President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the tone in their verbal conflict, heightening tensions bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has cocaine mills and processing labs and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Allegations
Talking to the press on Sunday, the American leader threatened analogous use of force against Colombia, claiming the nation is also "very ill" and led by a sick man who likes making narcotics and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Relationship
The country for decades served as a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in the US capital, yet ties have soured markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups such as the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded following a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Defiant Answer
Upon being questioned if military intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the last century, rejected these allegations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I involved in narcotics," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he expressed in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will transform into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, which a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the ‘jaguar’ of the people," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Statesman
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed that he never engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he took part in writing a new constitution in the early 90s and later became a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election president.
"I pledged to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume arms again," he said.
Increased Security and Broad Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the president’s protection team had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, however, leaders from all sides of the political spectrum have rejected the notion of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Political and Financial Pressure
American authorities cancelled his travel authorization following he encouraged US troops to disobey any illegal orders. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and a number of associates.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed operations on boats in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
