President Trump along with his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume of their exchange, increasing tensions bilaterally after US forces attacked Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Trump suggested analogous military action against Bogotá, stating Colombia faces serious problems and “run by a sick man who likes making the drug and trafficking it to the US."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way tied to the trade.
A Frayed Alliance
Colombia has long been a key ally of the United States in the struggle combating drug cartels and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, but relations have soured dramatically following Trump was elected.
Its drug trade is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members laid down arms subsequent to a landmark accord.
The President's Strong Answer
In response to a query if military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the last century, categorically refuted these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not a narco," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a post.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will transform into a multitude of fighters across the countryside. And if they detain the nation's leader, whom a large part of the country admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he participated in writing a new constitution in 1991 subsequently becoming a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for the homeland I shall resume arms again," he vowed.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Rejection
The Colombian defence minister stated that the president’s security detail was strengthened.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have sided with Trump, but voices spanning the ideological divide have denounced the notion of American military action against their nation.
Political and Economic Pressure
Washington withdrew Petro’s visa following he called on American soldiers to disobey any illegal orders. Months later, authorities imposed asset freezes against the president, his spouse and several key allies.
At the same time while America bolstered its troop levels in the region and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed strikes on boats in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
