President Trump along with Colombia's president have intensified the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising strains in their relations after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump remarked.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Addressing journalists on Sunday, the US president suggested analogous use of force towards the South American nation, stating Colombia is “very sick too” and “run by an unwell individual who likes making the drug and selling it to America."
Although Colombia stands as the world’s largest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the trade.
A Strained Partnership
Colombia was historically a close partner of the US in the fight against narcotics trade and benefited from cross-party backing in Washington, but relations have soured dramatically following Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's drug trade is mainly overseen by criminal organizations including one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, a large contingent of whom demobilised subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Firm Rebuttal
In response to a query whether armed intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards against his country, Trump said: "That seems like a good idea from my perspective."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am not illegitimate and I am not a drug trafficker," he declared.
"He comments without knowledge. End the false accusations," he posted online.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will become thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the country loves and respects, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the people," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
He passed a period in his early life as a member of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed to have ever engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he took part in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became an influential politician. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before winning the presidency.
"I swore to abstain from using a gun ... but for the homeland I will take up arms again," he affirmed.
Heightened Measures and Broad Condemnation
The Colombian defence minister stated that the president’s security detail had received additional support.
Many among Colombia’s political right have expressed support with Trump's stance, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have rejected the notion of a US attack against their nation.
Bilateral and Economic Strains
The US revoked Petro’s visa after he urged US military personnel to ignore unlawful commands. Later, in October, the US enacted asset freezes against the president, the first lady and a number of close collaborators.
Concurrently while America bolstered its military presence in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out strikes on boats in Pacific waters adjacent to Colombia.
