Donald Trump and President Gustavo Petro have escalated the volume of their exchange, increasing tensions bilaterally following American military units struck Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He operates drug factories and processing labs and his time is running out," the US president stated.
Rising Rhetoric and Allegations
Addressing reporters on Sunday, the American leader threatened similar use of force against Bogotá, stating Colombia faces serious problems and led by a sick man who likes making narcotics and selling it to America."
While Colombia remains the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally connected to the illicit industry.
A Strained Alliance
This nation for decades served as a close partner of the US in the campaign against drug trafficking and benefited from bipartisan support from American politicians, but relations have soured dramatically after Trump came to office.
The nation's illicit drug economy is predominantly run by guerrilla factions including the Golf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members demobilised subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned whether military intervention comparable to Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump said: "It sounds good to me personally."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am not illegitimate and certainly not a narco," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will transform into numerous insurgents across the countryside. And should they arrest the president, whom a significant portion of the population admires and supports, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the people," he admonished.
From Insurgent to Leader
Petro spent a period in his early life participating with the radical M-19 insurgent movement though it is believed he did not engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing a new constitution in the early 90s and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before winning president.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I would take up the fight," he affirmed.
Reinforced Protection and Widespread Rejection
Colombia's defense chief stated that Petro's security detail was strengthened.
Many among Colombia’s right wing opposition have expressed support with Trump's stance, however, leaders spanning the ideological divide have rejected the possibility of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Strains
Washington cancelled the president's entry visa subsequent to he encouraged US military personnel to disobey orders that violate law. In October, authorities imposed financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and several associates.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean and striking alleged narcotics traffickers against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted attacks on boats off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
