President Trump and President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric of their war of words, heightening tensions between the two countries after US forces struck Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates drug factories and production sites and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Allegations
Speaking to the press over the weekend, Trump suggested similar use of force against Bogotá, asserting the nation is also "very ill" and governed by a problematic figure involved in producing the drug and selling it to the US."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the trade.
A Strained Partnership
This nation has long been a staunch collaborator of the US in the struggle against drug trafficking and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have worsened markedly after Trump was elected.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is predominantly run by guerrilla factions including one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members disbanded after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Firm Response
In response to a query if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me personally."
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised decades ago, firmly denied the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate nor am I a drug trafficker," he stated.
"He comments without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest me, which many of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to Leader
He passed part of his youth as a member of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate to have ever participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and eventually served as a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I pledged to never again hold arms again ... but for Colombia I shall resume the fight," he said.
Heightened Measures along with Widespread Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the president’s personal security had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump, but voices from across Colombian politics have denounced the possibility of a US attack against their nation.
Diplomatic and Financial Strains
The US withdrew Petro’s visa following he encouraged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Months later, authorities imposed economic restrictions against the president, his wife and several associates.
Simultaneously as the US increased its troop levels near Venezuela and targeting suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out strikes on boats in Pacific waters near Colombia.
