Bogotá, Colombia - Colombia's ELN guerrilla group on Friday ordered civilians in areas under its control to stay home for three days as it carries out military exercises in response to threats from US President Donald Trump.

Trump said earlier this month any country that produces cocaine and sells it to the US was "subject to attack."

The ELN, the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia and vowed Friday to fight for the country's defense in the face of Trump's "threats of imperialist intervention."

It urged civilians in areas it controls to stay indoors for 72 hours starting at 6:00 am on Sunday, avoiding main roads and navigable rivers.

"It is necessary for civilians not to mix with fighters to avoid accidents," the group said in a statement.

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez dismissed the ELN move as "nothing more than criminal coercion" and vowed the military "will be everywhere – in every mountain, every jungle, every river" to counter it.

With a force of about 5,800 combatants, the ELN – which stands for National Liberation Army – is present in over a fifth of Colombia's 1,100-plus municipalities, according to the Insight Crime research center.

The ELN has taken part in failed peace negotiations with Colombia's last five governments.

While driven by a left-leaning, nationalist ideology, the ELN is also involved in the drug trade, vying for control of lucrative coca plantations and trafficking routes with dissident fighters that refused to lay down arms when the FARC guerrilla army disarmed under a 2016 peace deal.

Relations between Bogotá and Washington have soured since Trump's return to the White House.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has denounced the Republican's brutal treatment of immigrants, as well as his killing spree in Latin American waters, where the US strikes on small boats have killed some 90 people – including at least one Colombian.

Petro has also criticized the Trump administration's aggressions against Venezuela, sparking fears of a plot to overthrow its predident, Nicolás Maduro, under the guise of an anti-drug operation.

The US, in turn, has baselessly accused Petro of personally trafficking drugs and imposed unprecedented sanctions.