Colombian President Warns 'I Will Resort to Weapons Again' if United States Launches an Attack.

President Trump and his Colombian counterpart have intensified the volume in their verbal conflict, increasing tensions bilaterally after US forces struck Venezuela to remove the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from power.

"He runs drug factories and cocaine factories and his time is running out," Trump remarked.

Rising Tensions coupled with Accusations

Speaking to the press over the weekend, the American leader hinted at analogous armed intervention against Bogotá, stating the country is “very sick too” and led by a problematic figure who enjoys creating narcotics and distributing it to the US."

While Colombia remains the globe's biggest cocaine-producing country, authorities have found no indication implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is directly connected to the illicit industry.

A Strained Alliance

This nation has long been a close partner of the United States in the struggle against drug trafficking and received wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have soured significantly since Trump assumed the presidency.

Colombia’s drug trade is predominantly run by illegal armed groups including the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and breakaway groups of the former Farc guerrillas, the majority of whose members disbanded subsequent to a 2016 peace deal.

Petro's Firm Response

Upon being questioned if a military operation similar to Venezuela was a possibility regarding Colombia, Trump replied: "That seems like a good idea to me."

President Petro, an ex-guerrilla fighter who disarmed in the 1990s, rejected the accusations. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not a drug trafficker," he stated.

"Trump speaks uninformed. Stop slandering me," he wrote in a post.

"If they [the US] bomb peasants, they will transform into numerous insurgents in the hills. And if they detain the nation's leader, whom many of the country loves and respects, they will provoke the powerful force of the populace," the president cautioned.

From Insurgent to Leader

He passed part of his youth participating in the left-wing M-19 insurgent movement but is not believed that he never engaged in fighting. After demobilizing, he took part in writing the constitutional rewrite in the early 90s and later became a respected lawmaker. He held the office of mayor of Bogotá prior to his election president.

"I made a vow not to touch arms again ... but for the homeland I would take up weapons once more," he affirmed.

Increased Security along with Broad Condemnation

Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the national leader's protection team had been reinforced.

Several members of Colombia’s conservative opposition have allied themselves with Trump, yet figures from across the ideological divide have denounced the possibility of a US attack against their nation.

Diplomatic and Financial Strains

Washington withdrew Petro’s visa following he urged American soldiers to refuse any illegal orders. Later, in October, it placed asset freezes on Petro, his wife and a number of associates.

Concurrently as the US increased its troop levels in the Caribbean and bombing alleged narcotics traffickers to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro, the US executed attacks on maritime targets in the eastern Pacific region adjacent to Colombia.