The US President along with his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume of their exchange, increasing tensions between the two countries after American military units struck Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He operates drug factories and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Growing Tensions coupled with Accusations
Addressing the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at similar military action against Bogotá, asserting the country faces serious problems and “run by an unwell individual who enjoys creating the drug and distributing it to the United States."
While Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the business.
A Frayed Relationship
The country was historically a key ally of the US in the struggle against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval in Washington, yet ties have worsened significantly after Trump came to office.
Its drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations including one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the demobilized Farc, most of its former fighters demobilised subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
In response to a query whether military intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea to me personally."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed decades ago, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader and certainly not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he posted online.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain the president, whom a significant portion of the population loves and respects, they will release the powerful force of the people," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to President
He passed some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate to have ever engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a respected lawmaker. He served as mayor of the capital city before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I pledged not to touch arms again ... but for the homeland I will take up the fight," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection along with Broad Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the president’s security detail had received additional support.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with the US president, however, leaders spanning Colombian politics have rejected the notion of a US attack against their nation.
Political and Economic Sanctions
Washington revoked his travel authorization following he encouraged US troops to refuse unlawful commands. In October, it placed asset freezes against the president, his spouse and several close collaborators.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence near Venezuela and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted attacks against vessels off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
