Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have escalated the rhetoric in their verbal conflict, heightening tensions in their relations following US forces struck Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.
Escalating Tensions coupled with Accusations
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the American leader threatened analogous military action towards the South American nation, claiming the nation faces serious problems and led by a sick man involved in producing cocaine and distributing it to the US."
While Colombia is the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence that President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the trade.
A Strained Relationship
The country has long been a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from cross-party backing in the US capital, however, the relationship have deteriorated markedly since Trump was elected.
Colombia’s narcotics trade is mainly overseen by guerrilla factions like one major cartel, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Strong Response
When asked if a military operation like that in Venezuela was being considered for Colombia, Trump said: "That seems like a good idea to me."
Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who left armed struggle in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not a narco," he declared.
"He comments without information. End the false accusations," he wrote in a post.
"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will become numerous insurgents in the hills. And should they arrest me, whom a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the ‘jaguar’ of the people," the president cautioned.
From Insurgent to President
He passed a period in his early life belonging of the leftist M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate he did not took part in armed clashes. After demobilizing, he was involved in drafting a new constitution in the early 90s and eventually served as an influential politician. He was mayor of the capital city before being elected the presidency.
"I swore to never again hold a weapon again ... but in defense of my country I would take up the fight," he said.
Heightened Measures and Widespread Condemnation
Colombia's defense chief announced that the national leader's security detail had been reinforced.
Many among Colombia’s right wing opposition have sided with the US president, yet figures from across Colombian politics have denounced the threats of a US attack targeting Colombia.
Diplomatic and Economic Pressure
The US withdrew the president's entry visa following he urged US troops to ignore orders that violate law. Months later, it placed economic restrictions against the president, his spouse and several close collaborators.
At the same time while America bolstered its military presence in the region and striking alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
