The US President and President Gustavo Petro have escalated the rhetoric of their war of words, increasing tensions between the two countries after US forces attacked Venezuela with the aim of deposing President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Growing Rhetoric and Accusations
Speaking to the press over the weekend, the American leader threatened analogous armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting the country is also "very ill" and “run by a problematic figure who enjoys creating narcotics and trafficking it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the leading source of the narcotic, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way tied to the business.
A Frayed Relationship
The country for decades served as a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight against narcotics trade and benefited from cross-party backing from American politicians, however, the relationship have deteriorated markedly since Trump came to office.
Colombia’s drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations including the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom disbanded following a landmark accord.
Colombia's Defiant Answer
In response to a query if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that from my perspective."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, firmly denied these allegations. "I am no illegitimate nor am I a drug trafficker," he declared.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. Cease defaming me," he expressed online.
"Should American forces attack rural communities, they will become numerous insurgents in the hills. And if they detain me, which a significant portion of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the nation," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. After demobilizing, he took part in writing a new constitution in 1991 and later became a prominent senator. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá before being elected president.
"I pledged not to touch a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up arms again," he said.
Increased Security along with Broad Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the president’s protection team was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, but voices spanning the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Financial Strains
American authorities revoked his travel authorization after he called on US military personnel to refuse any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed financial sanctions on Petro, his spouse and various close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its troop levels in the region and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out operations on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
