President Trump along with Colombia's president have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, increasing strains bilaterally after American military units attacked Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates narcotics facilities and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Speaking to the press on Sunday, Trump suggested comparable armed intervention against Bogotá, asserting Colombia faces serious problems and “run by a sick man who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to the United States."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally tied to the trade.
A Strained Relationship
Colombia has long been a close partner of Washington in the fight against narcotics trade and enjoyed bipartisan support from American politicians, yet ties have soured markedly after Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups including the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters laid down arms after a landmark accord.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
In response to a query whether a military operation similar to Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that to me."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate nor am I involved in narcotics," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb civilians, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And if they detain the president, whom many of the population holds in high esteem, they will provoke the powerful force of the people," he admonished.
From Fighter to Leader
He passed some years as a young man belonging with the radical M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he took part in drafting the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and eventually served as an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before being elected the presidency.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but for the homeland I shall resume the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures and Broad Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the national leader's personal security had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with Trump's stance, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have condemned the notion of an invasion on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Financial Sanctions
The US revoked the president's entry visa after he encouraged US troops to refuse orders that violate law. Months later, the US enacted financial sanctions targeting Petro, his spouse and a number of associates.
Concurrently while America bolstered its forces in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted operations on boats in Pacific waters near Colombia.
