President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the volume of their war of words, heightening tensions bilaterally following American military units struck Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs cocaine mills and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the US president threatened comparable use of force against Bogotá, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and governed by a problematic figure involved in producing narcotics and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally tied to the trade.
A Deteriorating Relationship
The country has long been a close partner of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support in the US capital, but relations have soured markedly since Trump was elected.
Its drug trade is predominantly run by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members demobilised following a landmark accord.
Petro's Defiant Answer
When asked if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea to me."
The Colombian leader, 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 nor am I a drug trafficker," he stated.
"Trump speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he posted in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into numerous insurgents in the hills. And if they detain the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to President
He passed some years as a young man belonging in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed he did not took part in armed clashes. Upon leaving the group, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold a weapon again ... but for Colombia I shall resume arms again," he affirmed.
Increased Security and Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister reported that the national leader's personal security had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from all sides of the ideological divide have rejected the threats of a US attack on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Financial Strains
The US cancelled Petro’s visa after he encouraged US troops to disobey orders that violate law. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes against the president, his wife and several associates.
At the same time as the US increased its forces in the region and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed strikes on boats in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
