Colombian President Says 'I Will Take Up Arms Again' if American Forces Intervenes Militarily.

Donald Trump along with Colombia's president have escalated the volume of their war of words, further raising tensions in their relations following US forces attacked Venezuela in an operation to oust the leader of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro from power.

"He has drug factories and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long," the US president stated.

Growing Rhetoric and Allegations

Speaking to the press on Sunday, the US president suggested analogous military action against Bogotá, stating the country faces serious problems and led by a problematic figure involved in producing cocaine and distributing it to the US."

Although Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine-producing country, no proof exists implicating Gustavo Petro, elected two years ago, is personally involved in the trade.

A Strained Alliance

Colombia has long been a staunch collaborator of the United States in the fight combating drug cartels and received wide political approval in the US capital, but relations have deteriorated dramatically since Trump assumed the presidency.

The nation's drug trade is largely controlled by guerrilla factions including the Golf Clan, the ELN guerrilla group and renegade units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), most of its former fighters demobilised after a historic peace agreement.

Colombia's Strong Rebuttal

Upon being questioned whether military intervention like that in Venezuela was a possibility against his country, Trump said: "I like the sound of that to me personally."

President Petro, a former leftist guerrilla who demobilised in the 1990s, firmly denied these allegations. "I am neither illegitimate and I am not involved in narcotics," he affirmed.

"He comments without knowledge. Stop slandering me," he posted in a post.

"If US bombs target peasants, they will become numerous insurgents across the countryside. And should they arrest the nation's leader, whom many of the country admires and supports, they will provoke the fierce spirit of the nation," the president cautioned.

From Fighter to Leader

The president dedicated a period in his early life participating with the radical M-19 armed organization although reports indicate that he never engaged in fighting. Following his disarmament, he participated in writing a new constitution in 1991 and later became an influential politician. He served as mayor of Bogotá before winning the nation's highest office.

"I swore to never again hold arms again ... but in defense of my country I will take up the fight," he vowed.

Reinforced Protection along with Cross-Political Rejection

The Colombian defence minister stated that Petro's personal security had received additional support.

Several members of Colombia’s political right have sided with the US president, yet figures from all sides of the ideological divide have condemned the notion of a US attack targeting Colombia.

Political and Financial Pressure

American authorities cancelled his travel authorization following he urged US military personnel to refuse orders that violate law. Later, in October, it placed economic restrictions on Petro, his spouse and a number of associates.

Simultaneously the US was building up its military presence in the Caribbean and bombing vessels thought to carry drugs to put pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro, US forces also carried out attacks against vessels in the eastern Pacific region off the Colombian coast.