United States President Donald Trump removed Colombia from a certified list of countries deemed cooperative in US-led counternarcotics efforts, but suspended sanctions that could affect bilateral law enforcement and military operations.
The decision was met with scorn in the South American country where Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that “the one that should be decertified is the government of the United States.”
In a memorandum to the US Congress, Trump said that “coca cultivation and cocaine production” in Colombia “have surged to all-time records” after Petro took office in 2022.
The US president rejected ongoing efforts to negotiate the demobilization of illegal armed groups that are involved in the cultivation of coca and the production and exports of cocaine.
According to Trump, the Colombian president’s “failed attempts to seek accommodations with narco-terrorist groups only exacerbated the crisis.”
Under President Petro’s leadership, coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record highs while Colombia’s government failed to meet even its own vastly reduced coca eradication goals, undermining years of mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries against narco-terrorists.
US President Donald Trump
“The failure of Colombia to meet its drug control obligations over the past year rests solely with its political leadership,” said the US president, who praised local authorities and the security forces who have been implementing Petro’s counternarcotics and peace policies.
Colombia’s security institutions and municipal authorities continue to show skill and courage in confronting terrorist and criminal groups, and the United States values the service and sacrifice of their dedicated public servants across all levels of government.
US President Donald Trump
In a response, the president ordered Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez to end all arms purchases from the United States.
No more handouts or gifts. They have already decertified us; it is their decision. The Colombian army is better off buying its weapons or making them with its own resources, because otherwise it will not be an army of national sovereignty.
President Gustavo Petro
Petro additionally stressed that his government would continue to perceive drug consumption primarily as a public health issue rather than a police issue.
