Colombia's Leader Warns 'I Would Take Up Arms Again' should American Forces Intervenes Militarily.

Donald Trump and Colombia's president have escalated the tone of their war of words, further raising tensions between the two countries after American military units struck Venezuela with the aim of deposing President Nicolás Maduro from office.

"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and his time is running out," the US president stated.

Escalating Rhetoric and Allegations

Addressing journalists on Sunday, the American leader threatened analogous use of force against Bogotá, asserting Colombia is “very sick too” and led by an unwell individual who enjoys creating narcotics and distributing it to the US."

Although Colombia stands as the globe's biggest producer of cocaine, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, who was elected in 2022, is personally involved in the trade.

A Frayed Alliance

The country for decades served as a staunch collaborator of the US in the fight combating drug cartels and enjoyed cross-party backing in Washington, but relations have soured markedly following Trump came to office.

Its illicit drug economy is mainly overseen by illegal armed groups such as the Golf Clan, another leftist insurgency and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters disbanded subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.

Colombia's Defiant Response

When asked if armed intervention like that in Venezuela was being considered against his country, Trump responded: "That seems like a good idea to me."

The Colombian leader, an ex-guerrilla fighter who demobilised in the 1990s, firmly denied these allegations. "I am no an illegitimate leader nor am I a narco," he declared.

"The US president speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he posted in a post.

"If they [the US] bomb rural communities, they will become a multitude of fighters in the hills. If they capture the president, which a large part of the population admires and supports, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the populace," he admonished.

From Fighter to Leader

He passed a period in his early life as a member in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement although reports indicate he did not participated in combat. Upon leaving the group, he participated in creating the constitutional rewrite over three decades ago and eventually served as an influential politician. He served as mayor of the Colombian capital before being elected president.

"I swore not to touch a weapon again ... but for the homeland I would take up arms again," he vowed.

Heightened Measures along with Widespread Rejection

Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Petro's protection team was strengthened.

Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures spanning Colombian politics have condemned the possibility of a US attack targeting Colombia.

Bilateral and Economic Sanctions

The US cancelled the president's entry visa subsequent to he called on US military personnel to refuse unlawful commands. Months later, authorities imposed financial sanctions against the president, his wife and a number of close collaborators.

At the same time as the US increased its military presence in the Caribbean and targeting vessels thought to carry drugs to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out strikes on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region near Colombia.