Donald Trump along with Colombia's president have turned up the rhetoric of their exchange, heightening strains between the two countries after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He runs drug factories and processing labs and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Growing Threats coupled with Accusations
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the American leader threatened similar armed intervention towards the South American nation, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and governed by a sick man who likes making the drug and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia stands as the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way tied to the business.
A Frayed Relationship
This nation for decades served as a key ally of Washington in the campaign combating drug cartels and benefited from cross-party backing from American politicians, however, the relationship have deteriorated dramatically after Trump was elected.
Colombia’s drug trade is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members laid down arms subsequent to a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Strong Rebuttal
Upon being questioned whether armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump said: "It sounds good from my perspective."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised decades ago, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"He comments without information. End the false accusations," he wrote online.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the president, which a large part of Colombians loves and respects, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
He passed a period in his early life as a member of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed that he never took part in armed clashes. Following his disarmament, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He served as mayor of Bogotá before winning the presidency.
"I swore to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I would take up the fight," he said.
Reinforced Protection along with Widespread Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister stated that the president’s protection team had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with the US president, yet figures from all sides of Colombian politics have rejected the notion of a US attack against their nation.
Bilateral and Financial Sanctions
Washington withdrew the president's entry visa following he called on American soldiers to disobey unlawful commands. In October, the US enacted asset freezes against the president, his wife and various close collaborators.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence near Venezuela and bombing suspected drug boats against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed operations on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
