President Trump along with Colombia's president have intensified the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising strains between the two countries after US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Growing Rhetoric and Accusations
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the American leader suggested similar armed intervention against Bogotá, claiming the country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who enjoys creating the drug and distributing it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the trade.
A Frayed Alliance
The country has long been a key ally of the US in the struggle against drug trafficking and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, yet ties have soured dramatically since Trump came to office.
The nation's narcotics trade is predominantly run by criminal organizations such as one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
When asked if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"He comments without information. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. If they capture the nation's leader, which a large part of the population admires and supports, they will release the powerful force of the people," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
The president dedicated part of his youth participating of the leftist M-19 armed organization though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of Bogotá before winning the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but for the homeland I will take up weapons once more," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Cross-Political Rejection
The Colombian defence minister announced that Petro's security detail had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump's stance, but voices from across Colombian politics have condemned the notion of American military action on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Financial Sanctions
Washington withdrew his travel authorization following he encouraged US military personnel to ignore unlawful commands. Months later, the US enacted financial sanctions against the president, the first lady and various key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted operations on boats in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
