On Monday, Washington announced that it no longer considers Colombia a partner in its fight against drug trafficking, a decision that will likely result in Bogotá losing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual U.S. military aid.
A document sent by the White House to Congress stated, “In Colombia, coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record levels under President Gustavo Petro. His unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with drug cartels have only exacerbated the crisis.”
Signed by President Donald Trump, the document also noted, “Colombia’s political leaders are solely responsible for the failure to meet drug-related commitments last year. I will reconsider this decision if the Colombian government takes decisive actions to eliminate coca and curb cocaine production and trafficking.”
In Bogotá, President Gustavo Petro expressed his disappointment over the decision during a cabinet meeting, highlighting that it comes “after numerous Colombian police and military personnel were killed” in the struggle against drug cartels and leftist militias funded by drug trade.
This decision coincides with a campaign led by the U.S. president against drug trafficking from Latin America to the United States.
Historically, the relations between Washington and Bogotá have been strong, but they have deteriorated since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January.
The two nations experienced a brief but intense diplomatic crisis in late January over differing views on the repatriation of undocumented migrants from the U.S. back to Colombia.
Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine exporter, set record production levels for the drug last year, according to United Nations reports.