The US President along with his Colombian counterpart have turned up the volume of their exchange, further raising tensions in their relations following American military units targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has cocaine mills and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.
Growing Tensions and Claims
Speaking to the press on Sunday, the American leader suggested similar use of force towards the South American nation, claiming the nation is “very sick too” and led by a problematic figure involved in producing cocaine and selling it to America."
Although Colombia is the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally tied to the trade.
A Strained Alliance
The country has long been a key ally of Washington in the campaign against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have worsened dramatically after Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is largely controlled by criminal organizations such as the Clan del Golfo, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom demobilised following a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Defiant Response
In response to a query if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea to me personally."
President Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the 1990s, firmly denied the accusations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I involved in narcotics," he declared.
"He comments without information. End the false accusations," he wrote online.
"If they [the US] bomb civilians, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest me, which many of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the powerful force of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
The president dedicated some years as a young man participating in the left-wing M-19 armed organization but is not believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he participated in drafting the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became an influential politician. He held the office of mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected the presidency.
"I pledged to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for the homeland I shall resume arms again," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection along with Cross-Political Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Petro's personal security had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, but voices spanning the ideological divide have rejected the notion of a US attack on Colombia.
Political and Economic Strains
The US withdrew Petro’s visa subsequent to he urged US troops to ignore any illegal orders. Later, in October, authorities imposed asset freezes on Petro, his wife and various close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its military presence near Venezuela and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted strikes on maritime targets off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
