Colombian President Declares 'I Will Resort to Weapons Again' should US Intervenes Militarily.

Donald Trump along with President Gustavo Petro have turned up the tone in their verbal conflict, further raising tensions bilaterally following US forces attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from office.

"He has drug factories and processing labs and that won't last much longer," Trump added.

Growing Threats and Allegations

Talking to the press over the weekend, Trump hinted at similar armed intervention towards the South American nation, stating the nation is also "very ill" and “run by a sick man who likes making narcotics and trafficking it to America."

Although Colombia remains the leading source of the narcotic, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally involved in the trade.

A Deteriorating Alliance

This nation has long been a staunch collaborator of Washington in the fight combating drug cartels and received bipartisan support in Washington, yet ties have soured dramatically since Trump assumed the presidency.

The nation's drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions like one major cartel, another leftist insurgency and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a large contingent of whom demobilised following a historic peace agreement.

Petro's Strong Answer

When asked if armed intervention comparable to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump responded: "I like the sound of that from my perspective."

President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the last century, categorically refuted the accusations. "I am no an illegitimate leader and I am not a drug trafficker," he stated.

"The US president speaks without information. End the false accusations," he posted in a message.

"If US bombs target peasants, they will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain the president, whom a large part of Colombians holds in high esteem, they will release the fierce spirit of the populace," Petro warned.

From Fighter to Statesman

He passed some years as a young man participating with the radical M-19 armed organization though it is believed to have ever participated in combat. After demobilizing, he took part in writing a new constitution in 1991 and eventually served as an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before being elected the nation's highest office.

"I pledged not to touch a gun ... but for Colombia I would take up weapons once more," he vowed.

Heightened Measures and Broad Opposition

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

A segment of Colombia’s political right have expressed support with Trump, yet figures spanning the political spectrum have condemned the notion of American military action on Colombia.

Diplomatic and Economic Sanctions

Washington withdrew the president's entry visa subsequent to he urged American soldiers to refuse unlawful commands. In October, the US enacted financial sanctions targeting Petro, his wife and a number of key allies.

At the same time the US was building up its troop levels in the Caribbean and targeting alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US have also conducted attacks against vessels in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.