Donald Trump and President Gustavo Petro have turned up the rhetoric of their war of words, increasing strains bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs cocaine mills and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Growing Threats and Accusations
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump suggested similar military action against Colombia, asserting the country faces serious problems and led by a sick man involved in producing cocaine and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia remains the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly connected to the trade.
A Strained Partnership
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of Washington in the struggle against narcotics trade and benefited from bipartisan support from American politicians, yet ties have deteriorated markedly after Trump assumed the presidency.
The nation's narcotics trade is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups including one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members laid down arms after a historic peace agreement.
Petro's Strong Response
Upon being questioned if a military operation like that in Venezuela was on the cards regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea from my perspective."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the 1990s, firmly denied Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader and certainly not a narco," he declared.
"Trump speaks without information. End the false accusations," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target civilians, they will transform into thousands of guerrillas across the countryside. And should they arrest me, whom a large part of the country holds in high esteem, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," Petro warned.
From Insurgent to Statesman
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 guerrilla group though it is believed that he never engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and eventually served as a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of Bogotá before being elected president.
"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I shall resume weapons once more," he said.
Increased Security and Broad Opposition
Colombia's defense chief reported that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have denounced the possibility of a US attack against their nation.
Diplomatic and Economic Strains
American authorities cancelled the president's entry visa following he called on American soldiers to disobey orders that violate law. Months later, authorities imposed economic restrictions against the president, the first lady and a number of key allies.
At the same time while America bolstered its troop levels in the region and striking vessels thought to carry drugs against Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets have also conducted operations on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.
