President Trump along with his Colombian counterpart have turned up the rhetoric of their exchange, further raising strains bilaterally following US forces struck Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs cocaine mills and production sites and that won't last much longer," Trump added.
Growing Rhetoric and Claims
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the American leader suggested analogous use of force against Bogotá, claiming the country is also "very ill" and “run by a sick man involved in producing cocaine and distributing it to the US."
Although Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, no proof exists that President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally tied to the business.
A Frayed Relationship
Colombia for decades served as a key ally of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support from American politicians, however, the relationship have worsened markedly following Trump came to office.
The nation's illicit drug economy is largely controlled by criminal organizations including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom laid down arms after a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Answer
When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that from my perspective."
The Colombian leader, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, firmly denied the accusations. "I am not an illegitimate leader and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.
"The US president speaks without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a post.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will become numerous insurgents in the mountains. And if they detain me, which a significant portion of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," he admonished.
From Fighter to Leader
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed that he never took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he was involved in creating a new constitution in the early 90s subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but for Colombia I shall resume weapons once more," he vowed.
Increased Security and Cross-Political Opposition
Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that the president’s personal security had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with the US president, however, leaders from all sides of Colombian politics have condemned the possibility of American military action targeting Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
American authorities withdrew the president's entry visa following he urged US troops to disobey any illegal orders. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions on Petro, his wife and various associates.
Concurrently the US was building up its troop levels near Venezuela and targeting alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out operations on boats off the Pacific coast off the Colombian coast.
