Colombia's President Says 'I Shall Resort to Weapons Once More' if American Forces Invades.

Donald Trump along with his Colombian counterpart have escalated the tone of their war of words, heightening tensions bilaterally after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.

"He runs narcotics facilities and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.

Escalating Tensions and Claims

Talking to the press over the weekend, the American leader threatened similar military action towards the South American nation, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and “run by a sick man who likes making narcotics and distributing it to America."

While Colombia is the globe's biggest source of the narcotic, there is no evidence linking President Gustavo Petro, the nation's current leader, is personally involved in the trade.

A Deteriorating Relationship

This nation was historically a staunch collaborator of Washington in the campaign against narcotics trade and received cross-party backing from American politicians, however, the relationship have soured markedly since Trump was elected.

Colombia’s drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions including the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom disbanded after a landmark accord.

The President's Strong Rebuttal

In response to a query whether military intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "It sounds good to me personally."

Petro, once a member of a left-wing insurgent group who disarmed in the last century, rejected these allegations. "I am not illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he declared.

"He comments uninformed. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.

"If US bombs target peasants, they will turn into a multitude of fighters across the countryside. And should they arrest the president, whom a significant portion of Colombians admires and supports, they will unleash the ‘jaguar’ of the populace," Petro warned.

From Fighter to Leader

The president dedicated part of his youth participating in the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed to have ever participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he was involved in writing a new constitution in 1991 and eventually served as a prominent senator. He served as mayor of Bogotá before being elected the presidency.

"I swore to abstain from using a weapon again ... but for the homeland I will take up the fight," he said.

Reinforced Protection and Cross-Political Condemnation

The Colombian defence minister stated that the president’s security detail had received additional support.

Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures spanning the ideological divide have denounced the threats of a US attack on Colombia.

Diplomatic and Financial Pressure

American authorities cancelled his travel authorization subsequent to he called on US military personnel to disobey any illegal orders. Months later, the US enacted financial sanctions on Petro, his wife and various key allies.

Simultaneously while America bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces have also conducted operations against vessels off the Pacific coast near Colombia.