The US President along with President Gustavo Petro have intensified the tone of their war of words, further raising strains bilaterally after US forces attacked Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from his position.
"He has cocaine mills and production sites and his time is running out," Trump added.
Growing Rhetoric coupled with Claims
Addressing journalists over the weekend, Trump threatened analogous military action against Bogotá, asserting the nation is “very sick too” and led by a sick man involved in producing narcotics and trafficking it to the US."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly connected to the trade.
A Frayed Partnership
This nation has long been a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from wide political approval from American politicians, yet ties have deteriorated markedly after Trump assumed the presidency.
Its drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions such as the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, most of its former fighters laid down arms subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.
Colombia's Defiant Response
Upon being questioned whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump replied: "I like the sound of that to me."
The Colombian leader, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed in the 1990s, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am not illegitimate nor am I a narco," he affirmed.
"He comments without information. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a message.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will transform into numerous insurgents across the countryside. If they capture the nation's leader, whom a significant portion of the country admires and supports, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the populace," he admonished.
From Insurgent to Statesman
He passed a period in his early life as a member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate that he never engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of the capital city before being elected the nation's highest office.
"I pledged to never again hold a gun ... but for the homeland I shall resume weapons once more," he said.
Heightened Measures and Widespread Opposition
The Colombian defence minister stated that the national leader's security detail had received additional support.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have denounced the notion of an invasion targeting Colombia.
Political and Economic Strains
Washington revoked his travel authorization after he urged American soldiers to ignore orders that violate law. Later, in October, authorities imposed economic restrictions against the president, his wife and several close collaborators.
At the same time while America bolstered its military presence in the region and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted strikes on boats in Pacific waters off the Colombian coast.
