Colombia's President Says 'I Will Return to Arms Again' if United States Invades.
Donald Trump along with Colombia's president have escalated the rhetoric of their war of words, further raising strains between the two countries after US forces struck Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from power.
"He has drug factories and processing labs and his time is running out," Trump remarked.
Growing Threats coupled with Allegations
Speaking to the press on Sunday, the American leader hinted at comparable armed intervention against Colombia, stating the nation is also "very ill" and “run by an unwell individual who enjoys creating cocaine and selling it to the United States."
While Colombia stands as the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is directly involved in the trade.
A Deteriorating Relationship
The country has long been a staunch collaborator of the US in the campaign against narcotics trade and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have deteriorated significantly after Trump was elected.
Its narcotics trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups like the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the demobilized Farc, the majority of whose members demobilised following a 2016 peace deal.
The President's Defiant Response
When asked if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, Trump replied: "It sounds good to me."
The Colombian leader, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who demobilised in the 1990s, categorically refuted Trump's claims. "I am neither an illegitimate leader and I am not a narco," he stated.
"Trump speaks without information. Cease defaming me," he wrote in a message.
"Should American forces attack peasants, they will turn into thousands of guerrillas in the hills. If they capture the president, whom a large part of the population loves and respects, they will unleash the powerful force of the populace," the president cautioned.
From Fighter to President
Petro spent some years as a young man as a member with the radical M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed that he never participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in creating the constitutional rewrite in 1991 and later became a respected lawmaker. He was mayor of Bogotá prior to his election president.
"I made a vow to abstain from using arms again ... but for the homeland I would take up arms again," he said.
Reinforced Protection along with Broad Rejection
Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Petro's personal security had been reinforced.
A segment of Colombia’s right wing opposition have allied themselves with Trump, yet figures spanning the political spectrum have condemned the threats of an invasion on Colombia.
Political and Financial Pressure
Washington cancelled his travel authorization subsequent to he encouraged American soldiers to ignore orders that violate law. In October, the US enacted economic restrictions on Petro, the first lady and several close collaborators.
Simultaneously while America bolstered its forces in the region and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.
