The US President and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume of their war of words, further raising strains bilaterally after American military units struck Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has cocaine mills and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Rising Tensions and Accusations
Talking to journalists on Sunday, Trump threatened comparable armed intervention against Colombia, asserting the nation is “very sick too” and governed by a problematic figure who enjoys creating the drug and trafficking it to the US."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way tied to the business.
A Strained Partnership
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of Washington in the struggle against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have soured markedly after Trump was elected.
The nation's narcotics trade is largely controlled by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded after a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Answer
In response to a query whether a military operation like that in Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied these allegations. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not a narco," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he expressed online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And if they detain the president, which many of the country holds in high esteem, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
He passed some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed to have ever engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he participated in drafting the nation's constitution over three decades ago and later became a prominent senator. He was mayor of Bogotá prior to his election the presidency.
"I pledged not to touch a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume arms again," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection and Cross-Political Opposition
Colombia's defense chief announced that the president’s personal security had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with the US president, but voices from across Colombian politics have condemned the possibility of an invasion against their nation.
Political and Economic Sanctions
The US withdrew his travel authorization subsequent to he urged US troops to disobey any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes against the president, his wife and various close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its forces in the region and bombing suspected drug boats against Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out strikes against vessels in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
