Donald Trump and Colombia's president have escalated the rhetoric of their war of words, increasing strains in their relations after American military units attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and production sites and that won't last much longer," the US president stated.
Escalating Rhetoric and Claims
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump threatened comparable armed intervention against Colombia, claiming the country is also "very ill" and led by an unwell individual involved in producing cocaine and trafficking it to the United States."
While Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally tied to the trade.
A Deteriorating Relationship
This nation has long been a close partner of the United States in the campaign against drug trafficking and enjoyed cross-party backing in Washington, however, the relationship have deteriorated dramatically since Trump was elected.
The nation's narcotics trade is predominantly run by criminal organizations like one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members disbanded subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Defiant Response
When asked whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea to me."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who left armed struggle decades ago, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am no illegitimate nor am I a narco," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the hills. And if they detain me, which many of the population loves and respects, they will unleash the powerful force of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man participating with the radical M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 subsequently becoming an influential politician. He was mayor of Bogotá prior to his election president.
"I pledged to abstain from using a gun ... but for the homeland I shall resume weapons once more," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection and Broad Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that Petro's personal security was strengthened.
Many among Colombia’s right wing opposition have sided with the US president, but voices spanning the ideological divide have condemned the notion of a US attack against their nation.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
American authorities revoked the president's entry visa following he encouraged US military personnel to disobey any illegal orders. Months later, it placed economic restrictions against the president, his spouse and various key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its forces in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
