'I am waiting': Colombian President Gustavo Petro dares Trump to ‘come get me’ after US threats

Colombian President Gustavo Petro hit back at Donald Trump's threats after a US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicholas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flore, from Caracas. Criticising the operation, Petro on Monday challenged Trump in a statement saying, "Come get me. I'm waiting for you here."

"If they [the US] bomb, the campesinos will become thousands of guerrillas in the mountains. And if they detain the president whom a large part of the country loves and respects, they will unleash the 'jaguar' of the people," he warned.

Petro, was served as a leftist guerrilla fighter in the 1990s, said, "I swore not to touch a weapon again ... but for the homeland I will take up arms again."

Columbain president's remarks came after, Trump, in a press conference following the capture of Nicolus maduro, cautioned that Petro should "watch his a**."

"He’s making cocaine, and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass," Trump said.

The White House on Sunday took a swipe at deposed Venezuelan President Maduro in a video posted on social media. The clip showed a montage of Maduro daring the US to “come and get me”, followed by footage of US strikes and the capture of the Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Also Read: Machado offers to share her Nobel Peace Prize with Donald Trump

The video also contains scenes from Trump's press briefing on the operation in Venezuela, during which the US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that Maduro "had his chance – until he didn't".

The ongoing tensions between the US and Colombia sharply escalated when President Trump on Sunday hinted at the possibility of a similar operation against Petro, accusing him of trafficking drugs in America. "Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you," Trump stated.

In October, the Trump administration had sanctioned Petro and members of his family over ties to the illegal drug trade.