President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the volume of their exchange, further raising tensions bilaterally after American military units struck Venezuela with the aim of deposing the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Escalating Tensions coupled with Claims
Talking to journalists over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous military action against Colombia, asserting the nation is also "very ill" and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and trafficking it to the United States."
While Colombia is the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Partnership
Colombia for decades served as a key ally of the United States in the fight combating drug cartels and enjoyed wide political approval from American politicians, but relations have deteriorated significantly following Trump assumed the presidency.
Its drug trade is predominantly run by guerrilla factions like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the demobilized Farc, most of its former fighters demobilised after a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
In response to a query whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised decades ago, firmly denied the accusations. "I am neither an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he stated.
"He comments without knowledge. End the false accusations," he wrote in a message.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will become numerous insurgents in the mountains. If they capture the nation's leader, which a large part of the country loves and respects, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man participating with the radical M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became a prominent senator. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I swore to never again hold arms again ... but for Colombia I would take up arms again," he said.
Reinforced Protection and Cross-Political Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that Petro's personal security had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with Trump, but voices from all sides of the political spectrum have rejected the possibility of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
American authorities cancelled Petro’s visa following he encouraged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Months later, the US enacted financial sanctions targeting Petro, the first lady and various close collaborators.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence in the Caribbean and bombing suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed strikes against vessels off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
