Donald Trump along with his Colombian counterpart have turned up the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has drug factories and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Growing Tensions coupled with Claims
Talking to the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous armed intervention against Bogotá, asserting the country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making the drug and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way tied to the business.
A Frayed Relationship
Colombia has long been a staunch collaborator of the US in the campaign combating drug cartels and received wide political approval in the US capital, however, the relationship have worsened significantly following Trump assumed the presidency.
Its illicit drug economy is predominantly run by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the demobilized Farc, most of its former fighters laid down arms subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
Upon being questioned whether a military operation comparable to Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the last century, firmly denied the accusations. "I am not an illegitimate leader nor am I involved in narcotics," he affirmed.
"He comments uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest me, which a significant portion of the country admires and supports, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," Petro warned.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate that he never engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he took part in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I swore not to touch a gun ... but for the homeland I shall resume the fight," he affirmed.
Increased Security along with Cross-Political Rejection
Colombia's defense chief stated that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with the US president, yet figures from all sides of the political spectrum have condemned the possibility of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
American authorities cancelled Petro’s visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Later, in October, the US enacted asset freezes on Petro, his spouse and various key allies.
At the same time the US was building up its troop levels in the Caribbean and targeting suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed attacks on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
