President Trump and President Gustavo Petro have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, heightening tensions in their relations after American military units targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Escalating Tensions coupled with Allegations
Addressing journalists over the weekend, Trump threatened comparable armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting Colombia is also "very ill" and led by a problematic figure involved in producing cocaine and selling it to the US."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly tied to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Partnership
Colombia for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the struggle against drug trafficking and enjoyed wide political approval in Washington, however, the relationship have worsened markedly after Trump came to office.
The nation's illicit drug economy is largely controlled by guerrilla factions including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members disbanded after a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Strong Response
When asked whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "It sounds good from my perspective."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who left armed struggle decades ago, rejected Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he stated.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. If they capture the nation's leader, which a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to Leader
Petro spent a period in his early life as a member with the radical M-19 armed organization but is not believed to have ever engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he was involved in writing the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of the capital city prior to his election the presidency.
"I pledged to never again hold a weapon again ... but for Colombia I will take up weapons once more," he said.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with Trump, yet figures from across the ideological divide have rejected the threats of American military action against their nation.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
Washington withdrew his travel authorization after he urged American soldiers to disobey orders that violate law. Later, in October, the US enacted asset freezes targeting Petro, his wife and several key allies.
At the same time as the US increased its forces in the Caribbean and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted attacks on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
