The US President and his Colombian counterpart have escalated the volume of their war of words, heightening strains between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and his time is running out," Trump added.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Addressing journalists on Sunday, the US president suggested comparable use of force against Bogotá, stating Colombia faces serious problems and governed by a sick man who enjoys creating narcotics and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly connected to the trade.
A Frayed Partnership
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of the US in the campaign against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have worsened markedly since Trump assumed the presidency.
Colombia’s narcotics trade is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the majority of whose members disbanded after a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Strong Response
When asked if armed intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility for Colombia, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed decades ago, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I a drug trafficker," he stated.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the hills. If they capture the president, whom many of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the powerful force of the populace," Petro warned.
From Guerrilla to Leader
Petro spent part of his youth belonging with the radical M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. Following his disarmament, he took part in creating a new constitution in the early 90s subsequently becoming an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before winning the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to abstain from using arms again ... but for Colombia I shall resume weapons once more," he affirmed.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Opposition
Colombia's defense chief announced that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices spanning Colombian politics have rejected the notion of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Pressure
American authorities cancelled the president's entry visa following he called on US troops to refuse any illegal orders. Months later, authorities imposed financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and various associates.
Concurrently as the US increased its forces in the region and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.
