President Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the tone of their war of words, further raising tensions between the two countries after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He operates cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Escalating Threats coupled with Claims
Talking to reporters over the weekend, Trump threatened similar military action towards the South American nation, stating the country faces serious problems and led by a problematic figure who enjoys creating narcotics and selling it to America."
While Colombia is the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Strained Relationship
This nation was historically a close partner of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and received bipartisan support in Washington, but relations have worsened dramatically since Trump was elected.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations such as the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, a large contingent of whom laid down arms after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Response
When asked if military intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump said: "It sounds good to me."
President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who left armed struggle decades ago, firmly denied these allegations. "I am not illegitimate and I am not a narco," he declared.
"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he expressed in a message.
"Should American forces attack civilians, they will become thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And if they detain me, whom a significant portion of the population holds in high esteem, they will release the fierce spirit of the nation," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to President
He passed part of his youth participating of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became a respected lawmaker. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I pledged to abstain from using arms again ... but for the homeland I would take up the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Widespread Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the president’s personal security had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s right wing opposition have sided with Trump, however, leaders from all sides of the political spectrum have denounced the possibility of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Sanctions
The US revoked the president's entry visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to ignore orders that violate law. In October, the US enacted asset freezes on Petro, his wife and several associates.
Concurrently as the US increased its troop levels in the region and bombing 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 near Colombia.
