The US President and Colombia's president have intensified the rhetoric of their war of words, heightening strains bilaterally following American military units targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Allegations
Speaking to the press over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous armed intervention towards the South American nation, claiming the nation faces serious problems and governed by an unwell individual who enjoys creating the drug and trafficking it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly connected to the trade.
A Frayed Alliance
This nation for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from wide political approval in Washington, but relations have soured markedly after Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Rebuttal
In response to a query if military intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not involved in narcotics," he stated.
"Trump speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he posted online.
"Should American forces attack rural communities, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the powerful force of the populace," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to President
The president dedicated some years as a young man participating with the radical M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed that he never engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he was involved in writing the nation's constitution in the early 90s and later became a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before winning the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but in defense of my country I shall resume the fight," he said.
Reinforced Protection and Widespread Rejection
The Colombian defence minister stated that Petro's protection team was strengthened.
Many among Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump's stance, yet figures spanning the ideological divide have rejected the notion of American military action against their nation.
Political and Economic Pressure
The US withdrew the president's entry visa following he encouraged US troops to ignore any illegal orders. Later, in October, authorities imposed asset freezes against the president, his wife and a number of key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted attacks on maritime targets in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
