The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the rhetoric of their war of words, further raising strains bilaterally following US forces targeted Venezuela with the aim of deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has narcotics facilities and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Growing Threats and Allegations
Speaking to the press on Sunday, the American leader hinted at similar armed intervention against Colombia, stating the country faces serious problems and led by a sick man who enjoys creating narcotics and distributing it to the United States."
Although Colombia remains the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way tied to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Alliance
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of the US in the fight combating drug cartels and benefited from cross-party backing in Washington, however, the relationship have soured markedly since Trump came to office.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is predominantly run by illegal armed groups including one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
Upon being questioned if a military operation comparable to Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump responded: "It sounds good from my perspective."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed decades ago, rejected the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a post.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And should they arrest the president, which a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the nation," he admonished.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed to have ever engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election the nation's highest office.
"I swore not to touch a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures and Widespread Rejection
Colombia's defense chief stated that Petro's protection team had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have sided with Trump's stance, yet figures spanning the ideological divide have rejected the notion of American military action on Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Sanctions
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa subsequent to he called on American soldiers to ignore orders that violate law. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and various close collaborators.
At the same time as the US increased its troop levels near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted operations on boats in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
