Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The diplomatic relations between the two national leaders are deteriorating fast.
Following the U.S. military operation, which resulted in the Venezuelan national leader, Nicolas Maduro, being taking captive and transported to the U.S. to stand trial, the world is wondering what will happen next.
And if remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump is to be taken as guide, Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, might have to watch his back.
After the operation in Venezuela, Trump issued a series of provocative comments about his Colombian counterpart, accusing him of involvement in drug production and trafficking.
He described Mr Petro as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” and suggested his time in power could be short. “And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,” Trump said to reporters on Air force One.
When asked directly whether he was referring to a possible US military operation against Colombia, the president replied: “Sounds good to me.”
Petro’s response
President Petro responded forcefully in a statement published on X, warning that any attack on Colombia would provoke widespread resistance. He said such an action would “unleash the jaguar.”
Petro went further by saying he would personally take up arms to defend the country if a military operation were launched against it.
Part of his statement read: “If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children. If you bomb peasants, thousands of guerrillas will return in the mountains.”
Sovereignty warning
Petro also issued a warning to Colombia’s armed forces, urging loyalty to the constitution and national sovereignty rather than foreign powers.
“And if you arrest the president whom a good part of my people want and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar. Every soldier of Colombia has an order from now on: every commander of the public force who prefers the flag of the US to the flag of Colombia must immediately withdraw from the institution by order of the bases and the troops and mine.”
He added: “The constitution orders the public force to defend popular sovereignty. Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity.”
Petro concluded: “I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will take up arms again that I do not want.”
The 1989 Peace Act was an agreement between the M-19 guerrilla group and the Colombian government, which opened possibilities for disarmament and democratic reform. Petro was a member of M-19.
Click to display external content from twitter,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Sources: X, Reuters, AP, BBC
