The US President along with Colombia's president have intensified the tone of their war of words, increasing tensions bilaterally after American military units targeted Venezuela with the aim of deposing President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates drug factories and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Addressing the press on Sunday, Trump threatened comparable armed intervention against Bogotá, asserting Colombia faces serious problems and “run by a problematic figure who likes making the drug and selling it to the US."
While Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication that President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally connected to the trade.
A Frayed Relationship
Colombia for decades served as a key ally of the United States in the fight against narcotics trade and received wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have worsened significantly following Trump came to office.
The nation's narcotics trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations like one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, a large contingent of whom demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Answer
When asked if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump responded: "It sounds good to me personally."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied the accusations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I a drug trafficker," he declared.
"Trump speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he posted in a message.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to Leader
He passed some years as a young man belonging in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in creating a new constitution in 1991 subsequently becoming an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before being elected the presidency.
"I swore to never again hold arms again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he said.
Heightened Measures and Broad Opposition
The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's protection team had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices spanning Colombian politics have denounced the threats of a US attack on Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
Washington revoked the president's entry visa after he urged US troops to refuse orders that violate law. Later, in October, authorities imposed financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and a number of close collaborators.
At the same time while America bolstered its troop levels in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets also carried out strikes on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
