The US President along with Colombia's president have escalated the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions in their relations after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He runs cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Escalating Threats coupled with Claims
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the American leader hinted at analogous armed intervention towards the South American nation, asserting Colombia is also "very ill" and governed by a problematic figure who likes making narcotics and trafficking it to the United States."
While Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, no proof exists linking President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way involved in the illicit industry.
A Strained Relationship
This nation for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and received wide political approval in Washington, yet ties have soured dramatically since Trump was elected.
Its illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups such as the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised following a landmark accord.
The President's Defiant Answer
When asked whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the last century, firmly denied the accusations. "I am neither an illegitimate leader nor am I a drug trafficker," he declared.
"The US president speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he wrote in a message.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will turn into a multitude of fighters across the countryside. If they capture the president, whom a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will release the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to President
The president dedicated some years as a young man participating in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and later became a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of Bogotá before being elected president.
"I swore to abstain from using a gun ... but for Colombia I will take up the fight," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection along with Widespread Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief stated that Petro's protection team had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have allied themselves with the US president, yet figures from across the ideological divide have rejected the threats of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
American authorities revoked Petro’s visa following he urged US military personnel to disobey any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and several close collaborators.
At the same time the US was building up its forces in the Caribbean and targeting alleged narcotics traffickers against Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed operations on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
