President Trump and President Gustavo Petro have escalated the volume of their exchange, further raising tensions bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He runs narcotics facilities and production sites and his time is running out," Trump added.
Rising Rhetoric coupled with Accusations
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the US president hinted at comparable use of force against Colombia, asserting the nation faces serious problems and led by an unwell individual who likes making narcotics and distributing it to the US."
While Colombia stands as the leading source of the narcotic, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.
A Deteriorating Partnership
The country was historically a staunch collaborator of Washington in the struggle against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support from American politicians, yet ties have soured markedly following Trump assumed the presidency.
Its drug trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups including one major cartel, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom disbanded following a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Firm Response
When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."
President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, rejected Trump's claims. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he affirmed.
"He comments uninformed. Cease defaming me," he wrote online.
"If US bombs target peasants, they will transform into a multitude of fighters in the mountains. And if they detain the nation's leader, which a large part of Colombians admires and supports, they will release the fierce spirit of the populace," he admonished.
From Guerrilla to Statesman
Petro spent a period in his early life as a member in the left-wing M-19 armed organization but is not believed that he never engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he participated in creating the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago subsequently becoming an influential politician. He was mayor of the capital city prior to his election the presidency.
"I pledged to never again hold arms again ... but in defense of my country I would take up arms again," he said.
Heightened Measures and Cross-Political Rejection
Colombia's defense chief stated that the president’s protection team had been reinforced.
Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have sided with Trump's stance, yet figures from across the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Economic Pressure
Washington revoked his travel authorization subsequent to he urged US military personnel to ignore any illegal orders. Later, in October, the US enacted economic restrictions targeting Petro, the first lady and various key allies.
At the same time while America bolstered its military presence in the region and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, American military assets executed operations on boats off the Pacific coast near Colombia.
