President Trump and Colombia's president have escalated the volume of their exchange, further raising strains bilaterally after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates narcotics facilities and cocaine factories and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Threats coupled with Claims
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the American leader threatened analogous military action towards the South American nation, stating the nation is also "very ill" and led by an unwell individual who likes making cocaine and trafficking it to the United States."
While Colombia stands as the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Partnership
This nation for decades served as a key ally of the United States in the struggle against drug trafficking and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have deteriorated significantly following Trump was elected.
Its drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions like the Clan del Golfo, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom laid down arms following a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
In response to a query if armed intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who left armed struggle in the last century, rejected the accusations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a message.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And if they detain the president, which a large part of the population holds in high esteem, they will unleash the powerful force of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to President
He passed a period in his early life participating of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed that he never participated in combat. After demobilizing, he took part in creating the nation's constitution over three decades ago and later became a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before winning the presidency.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for Colombia I would take up the fight," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection and Cross-Political Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Petro's security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from across the ideological divide have condemned the notion of a US attack on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to disobey unlawful commands. Months later, authorities imposed financial sanctions targeting Petro, the first lady and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently as the US increased its troop levels in the Caribbean and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out operations on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
