Colombian President Declares 'I Will Resort to Weapons Again' if United States Invades.

Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart have intensified the tone of their war of words, heightening tensions between the two countries after American military units struck Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from his position.

"He operates cocaine mills and cocaine factories and that won't last much longer," Trump remarked.

Growing Tensions and Allegations

Talking to the press on Sunday, the US president hinted at comparable armed intervention against Colombia, claiming the country faces serious problems and “run by an unwell individual involved in producing cocaine and trafficking it to the US."

While Colombia remains the leading cocaine-producing country, there is no evidence implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is in any way connected to the illicit industry.

A Strained Alliance

Colombia was historically a close partner of Washington in the campaign against narcotics trade and enjoyed bipartisan support from American politicians, but relations have deteriorated markedly since Trump came to office.

Colombia’s illicit drug economy is largely controlled by criminal organizations including the Clan del Golfo, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters laid down arms following a 2016 peace deal.

The President's Strong Rebuttal

Upon being questioned if military intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump responded: "It sounds good from my perspective."

President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, rejected these allegations. "I am no illegitimate nor am I a narco," he declared.

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

"If US bombs target civilians, they will become numerous insurgents across the countryside. And if they detain me, whom a large part of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the powerful force of the nation," the president cautioned.

From Guerrilla to Leader

The president dedicated part of his youth belonging with the radical M-19 guerrilla group but is not believed he did not engaged in fighting. Upon leaving the group, he took part in drafting the nation's constitution in the early 90s and later became a prominent senator. He was mayor of Bogotá before winning president.

"I swore to never again hold arms again ... but for the homeland I will take up arms again," he affirmed.

Increased Security along with Cross-Political Opposition

The Colombian defence minister stated that the national leader's protection team was strengthened.

A segment of Colombia’s political right have sided with Trump's stance, but voices spanning the political spectrum have rejected the notion of American military action targeting Colombia.

Bilateral and Economic Strains

The US cancelled the president's entry visa following he called on US military personnel to ignore orders that violate law. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes against the president, the first lady and a number of key allies.

Concurrently the US was building up its forces near Venezuela and striking alleged narcotics traffickers against Venezuela’s Maduro, the US also carried out strikes on maritime targets in Pacific waters near Colombia.