The US President along with Colombia's president have turned up the volume in their verbal conflict, increasing tensions between the two countries following US forces targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates narcotics facilities and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Escalating Threats and Accusations
Addressing journalists over the weekend, the American leader threatened comparable military action against Colombia, stating the country is also "very ill" and “run by a problematic figure who enjoys creating cocaine and selling it to America."
While Colombia stands as the leading producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly tied to the illicit industry.
A Strained Relationship
The country was historically a close partner of the United States in the fight against narcotics trade and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, however, the relationship have soured significantly after Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations like one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members disbanded after a landmark accord.
Colombia's Firm Response
In response to a query whether armed intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Trump said: "That seems like a good idea from my perspective."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the last century, rejected Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"The US president speaks without information. Stop slandering me," he expressed in a message.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. If they capture me, whom many of Colombians loves and respects, they will provoke the powerful force of the nation," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to President
Petro spent some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed that he never engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of Bogotá before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold a weapon again ... but for the homeland I shall resume arms again," he said.
Heightened Measures and Broad Rejection
The Colombian defence minister stated that Petro's protection team had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with Trump, yet figures from across the political spectrum have condemned the threats of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Sanctions
The US revoked the president's entry visa after he urged US military personnel to refuse unlawful commands. Months later, the US enacted economic restrictions on Petro, the first lady and various key allies.
Concurrently as the US increased its military presence in the region and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks on maritime targets off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
