President Trump along with Colombia's president have intensified the volume of their war of words, heightening tensions in their relations following American military units struck Venezuela in an operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Growing Rhetoric and Claims
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Trump threatened comparable military action towards the South American nation, claiming the country faces serious problems and led by a problematic figure involved in producing cocaine and selling it to the United States."
Although Colombia is the leading producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way involved in the illicit industry.
A Strained Alliance
This nation has long been a close partner of Washington in the campaign against drug trafficking and received cross-party backing from American politicians, however, the relationship have soured dramatically after Trump assumed the presidency.
Its illicit drug economy is predominantly run by illegal armed groups such as one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised subsequent to a landmark accord.
Petro's Firm Rebuttal
Upon being questioned if a military operation comparable to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am not illegitimate and I am not a drug trafficker," he declared.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he expressed in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will become a multitude of fighters in the mountains. If they capture the nation's leader, whom many of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed that he never participated in combat. After demobilizing, he participated in writing the nation's constitution over three decades ago subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election president.
"I made a vow to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume arms again," he said.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief reported that Petro's personal security had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices from all sides of Colombian politics have condemned the notion of a US attack against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Pressure
The US cancelled the president's entry visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to disobey any illegal orders. Later, in October, authorities imposed financial sanctions against the president, his spouse and various close collaborators.
Concurrently the US was building up its troop levels in the region and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out strikes against vessels off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
