President Trump along with Colombia's president have turned up the tone of their war of words, heightening tensions in their relations after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Escalating Tensions and Allegations
Speaking to the press over the weekend, Trump hinted at comparable use of force against Bogotá, stating Colombia is “very sick too” and led by an unwell individual who enjoys creating the drug and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia remains the world’s largest source of the narcotic, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly involved in the trade.
A Deteriorating Relationship
The country has long been a key ally of Washington in the campaign against drug trafficking and received cross-party backing in the US capital, but relations have soured significantly since Trump came to office.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is largely controlled by criminal organizations like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, most of its former fighters disbanded following a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Defiant Response
In response to a query if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the last century, rejected these allegations. "I am not illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he expressed in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom many of Colombians admires and supports, they will unleash the fierce spirit of the people," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed to have ever engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he took part in drafting the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and eventually served as an influential politician. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I pledged not to touch a gun ... but for the homeland I would take up arms again," he vowed.
Reinforced Protection along with Broad Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief announced that the president’s security detail was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with Trump's stance, but voices from across the political spectrum have condemned the possibility of an invasion against their nation.
Bilateral and Economic Pressure
American authorities withdrew Petro’s visa after he encouraged American soldiers to ignore unlawful commands. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions against the president, his wife and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its military presence near Venezuela and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks on boats in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
