President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the volume of their war of words, increasing tensions between the two countries after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs cocaine mills and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Rising Threats and Allegations
Speaking to the press on Sunday, the American leader suggested analogous use of force against Colombia, stating the country is “very sick too” and “run by an unwell individual who enjoys creating the drug and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly connected to the trade.
A Frayed Partnership
Colombia for decades served as a close partner of the United States in the campaign against drug trafficking and enjoyed cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured markedly after Trump was elected.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is predominantly run by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Firm Response
Upon being questioned if a military operation similar to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, categorically refuted these allegations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I a narco," he stated.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will turn into numerous insurgents across the countryside. And should they arrest the president, which a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will unleash the powerful force of the nation," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
Petro spent a period in his early life belonging in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as a prominent senator. He was mayor of the capital city prior to his election the presidency.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he said.
Reinforced Protection and Cross-Political Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Petro's security detail had received additional support.
Many among Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from across Colombian politics have rejected the threats of American military action on Colombia.
Political and Economic Sanctions
The US cancelled Petro’s visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to disobey orders that violate law. Later, in October, authorities imposed asset freezes against the president, his wife and several close collaborators.
At the same time while America bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out attacks against vessels off the Pacific coast adjacent to Colombia.
