The US President and Colombia's president have intensified the volume of their exchange, further raising strains bilaterally following American military units struck Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office.
"He operates drug factories and production sites and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Escalating Threats and Accusations
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the US president hinted at similar armed intervention towards the South American nation, claiming the nation is “very sick too” and “run by an unwell individual who enjoys creating narcotics and trafficking it to the United States."
Although Colombia remains the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is directly tied to the business.
A Deteriorating Alliance
This nation for decades served as a key ally of the US in the campaign against narcotics trade and benefited from wide political approval in the US capital, yet ties have worsened markedly since Trump came to office.
Its illicit drug economy is predominantly run by illegal armed groups including the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members demobilised after a landmark accord.
Colombia's Strong Rebuttal
When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the last century, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I a drug trafficker," he stated.
"He comments without knowledge. End the false accusations," he wrote in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb civilians, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And if they detain me, whom many of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the powerful force of the people," the president cautioned.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
Petro spent some years as a young man participating of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed he did not participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he took part in creating the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago subsequently becoming a prominent senator. He served as mayor of Bogotá before winning the presidency.
"I pledged not to touch a gun ... but for the homeland I would take up the fight," he vowed.
Heightened Measures along with Widespread Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with the US president, but voices from all sides of the political spectrum have condemned the notion of American military action against their nation.
Bilateral and Economic Sanctions
The US cancelled his travel authorization after he encouraged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Months later, it placed asset freezes against the president, his wife and various close collaborators.
At the same time the US was building up its troop levels in the Caribbean and striking suspected drug boats to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces executed attacks on maritime targets off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
