Donald Trump and President Gustavo Petro have turned up the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising strains in their relations following US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Escalating Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Speaking to journalists over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous military action against Bogotá, asserting Colombia is also "very ill" and led by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to America."
While Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly connected to the trade.
A Strained Partnership
This nation was historically a close partner of Washington in the struggle against drug trafficking and received wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have worsened significantly after Trump was elected.
Colombia’s drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups such as the Clan del Golfo, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters laid down arms subsequent to a landmark accord.
The President's Strong Response
Upon being questioned if a military operation like that in Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised decades ago, rejected the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks uninformed. End the false accusations," he expressed in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And if they detain the president, whom a large part of the population holds in high esteem, they will unleash the powerful force of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
He passed some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed that he never participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I swore not to touch a gun ... but for Colombia I shall resume arms again," he vowed.
Heightened Measures and Widespread Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that the president’s protection team had received additional support.
A segment of Colombia’s political right have sided with Trump's stance, however, leaders spanning the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of a US attack on Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Sanctions
American authorities revoked his travel authorization subsequent to he urged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Months later, it placed asset freezes against the president, his spouse and various close collaborators.
Simultaneously the US was building up its forces in the Caribbean and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out attacks on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
