Colombian President Says 'I Would Take Up Arms Once More' should US Invades.

Donald Trump and Colombia's president have turned up the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions bilaterally after American military units targeted Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

"He operates narcotics facilities and processing labs and is not going to be doing it very long," Trump added.

Growing Tensions and Accusations

Talking to journalists on Sunday, the US president suggested similar use of force against Colombia, stating Colombia is also "very ill" and “run by an unwell individual who likes making cocaine and distributing it to the United States."

While Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way involved in the business.

A Strained Relationship

Colombia has long been a close partner of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking and benefited from bipartisan support in the US capital, but relations have deteriorated dramatically following Trump was elected.

Its narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups like the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded following a historic peace agreement.

Petro's Defiant Response

When asked whether armed intervention similar to Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."

Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who disarmed in the last century, categorically refuted these allegations. "I am no illegitimate and certainly not a drug trafficker," he stated.

"He comments without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he wrote online.

"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will transform into a multitude of fighters in the hills. And should they arrest me, whom a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will provoke the ‘jaguar’ of the nation," the president cautioned.

From Guerrilla to Statesman

He passed some years as a young man belonging of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group although reports indicate that he never engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he participated in writing the nation's constitution in the early 90s and later became an influential politician. He was mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected the presidency.

"I made a vow to abstain from using a gun ... but in defense of my country I shall resume weapons once more," he vowed.

Heightened Measures along with Widespread Opposition

The Colombian defence minister reported that Petro's security detail had been reinforced.

A segment of Colombia’s conservative opposition have expressed support with the US president, however, leaders spanning Colombian politics have denounced the threats of an invasion targeting Colombia.

Bilateral and Economic Strains

American authorities cancelled his travel authorization after he encouraged US troops to refuse unlawful commands. In October, authorities imposed economic restrictions against the president, his wife and a number of key allies.

Simultaneously as the US increased its forces near Venezuela and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out attacks on maritime targets in Pacific waters near Colombia.