President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the tone of their war of words, heightening tensions between the two countries following American military units attacked Venezuela with the aim of deposing President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Growing Threats and Accusations
Addressing journalists on Sunday, Trump threatened analogous armed intervention towards the South American nation, claiming the nation faces serious problems and governed by a sick man who likes making cocaine and trafficking 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 directly connected to the illicit industry.
A Frayed Alliance
Colombia has long been a close partner of Washington in the campaign combating drug cartels and received cross-party backing from American politicians, however, the relationship have worsened dramatically since Trump was elected.
Colombia’s illicit drug economy is predominantly run by criminal organizations like one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded following a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Strong Rebuttal
In response to a query if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me personally."
Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the last century, firmly denied the accusations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I a narco," he stated.
"Trump speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he expressed in a post.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the president, whom many of the population loves and respects, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 armed organization but is not believed that he never participated in combat. After demobilizing, he participated in creating a new constitution in the early 90s subsequently becoming an influential politician. He was mayor of Bogotá before winning president.
"I swore to abstain from using a gun ... but for Colombia I shall resume the fight," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures along with Cross-Political Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the president’s security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump, yet figures from all sides of the political spectrum have rejected the notion of an invasion against their nation.
Political and Economic Sanctions
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to disobey orders that violate law. Later, in October, the US enacted financial sanctions against the president, the first lady and a number of associates.
At the same time the US was building up its troop levels near Venezuela and targeting suspected drug boats to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed operations on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
