President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the tone of their exchange, further raising strains between the two countries after US forces targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.
Escalating Threats and Allegations
Addressing journalists over the weekend, the US president hinted at analogous armed intervention against Bogotá, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and governed by an unwell individual who likes making cocaine and trafficking it to America."
Although Colombia remains the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists that President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way connected to the trade.
A Frayed Partnership
Colombia has long been a key ally of the US in the fight against narcotics trade and enjoyed cross-party backing from American politicians, but relations have worsened dramatically since Trump was elected.
Its drug trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups like the Clan del Golfo, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom laid down arms following a historic peace agreement.
Colombia's Firm Rebuttal
Upon being questioned whether military intervention comparable to Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle in the last century, firmly denied these allegations. "I am not an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he affirmed.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed online.
"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And if they detain me, whom many of Colombians loves and respects, they will provoke the powerful force of the populace," he admonished.
From Insurgent to President
Petro spent a period in his early life as a member with the radical M-19 armed organization though it is believed that he never took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he was involved in writing a new constitution in 1991 and eventually served as an influential politician. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital prior to his election president.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for Colombia I would take up arms again," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Broad Opposition
Colombia's defense chief reported that the president’s personal security was strengthened.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, however, leaders spanning the political spectrum have condemned the notion of American military action targeting Colombia.
Bilateral and Economic Pressure
Washington cancelled the president's entry visa after he urged US military personnel to disobey unlawful commands. Months later, it placed asset freezes on Petro, the first lady and various close collaborators.
Concurrently as the US increased its troop levels in the region and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed attacks against vessels in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
