Bogota, Colombia - Colombian President Gustavo Petro has hit back at the latest threats made by his US counterpart Donald Trump, who suggested the left-wing leader's days were numbered.

The day after the surprise US attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its president, Nicolás Maduro, Trump described Colombia as "very sick" and said the country was run by "a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States."

"He's not going to be doing it very long," he added.

The statements were an "illegitimate threat," Petro wrote on X, saying he would consider carefully what they meant.

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Petro warned that if action were taken against him, there would be serious consequences.

"If they arrest the president, who is appreciated and respected by the majority of my people, they will unleash the jaguar of the people," he said.

"Every soldier in Colombia has an order as of now: any commander of the security forces who prefers the US flag to the Colombian flag will be immediately removed from the institution."

"The order to the security forces is not to shoot at the people, but at the invader."

Trump has repeatedly threatened Petro in the past, but did not mention him by name during the exchange with journalists aboard a flight to Washington.

Asked by a reporter whether there would be a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied, "It sounds good to me."

The US launched strikes on targets in Venezuela early Saturday as part of the violent overthrow of Maduro, who was taken out of the country along with his wife.

He is due to appear in a New York court on Monday to face drug and weapons-related charges.