Donald Trump along with Colombia's president have intensified the volume in their verbal conflict, heightening strains between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs drug factories and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Escalating Threats and Allegations
Speaking to journalists over the weekend, the US president threatened similar armed intervention against Colombia, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and led by a sick man who enjoys creating cocaine and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way involved in the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Relationship
This nation was historically a close partner of the United States in the fight against narcotics trade and enjoyed bipartisan support from American politicians, however, the relationship have soured significantly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Its narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups such as the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom demobilised after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Response
Upon being questioned if a military operation like that in Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a message.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will transform into numerous insurgents across the countryside. If they capture the president, whom a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the people," Petro warned.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent a period in his early life participating of the leftist M-19 armed organization but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He was mayor of the capital city before winning the presidency.
"I pledged to abstain from using a gun ... but for Colombia I will take up weapons once more," he said.
Increased Security and Broad Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief announced that Petro's protection team was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump, but voices from across the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Sanctions
The US cancelled Petro’s visa after he called on American soldiers to disobey unlawful commands. Later, in October, it placed economic restrictions on Petro, his wife and various close collaborators.
At the same time as the US increased its forces in the region and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks on boats off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
