Colombia Suspends Intel Cooperation With U.S. Over Drug Strike Tactics
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday ordered his country’s security forces to stop sharing intelligence with the United States until the Trump administration halts attacks on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as relations worsen between the countries that were once close partners in the fight against drug trafficking.
In a message on
Petro wrote that “the war on drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.” It is not yet clear what kind of information Colombia will stop sharing with the United States. There was no immediate response from the White House to Petro’s latest statements.
At least 75 people was killed According to figures provided by the Trump administration, the US military has been carrying out attacks in international waters since August. The attacks began in the Southern Caribbean, near the coast of Venezuela, but have recently shifted to the Eastern Pacific, where the United States has targeted boats off the coast of Mexico.
Petro called for US President Donald Trump to be investigated for war crimes over strikes affecting citizens of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. Petro called for US President Donald Trump to be investigated for war crimes over strikes affecting citizens of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.
The leftist leader has long criticized US drug policy and accused the Trump administration of going after villagers who grow coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, rather than targeting major drug traffickers and money launderers. Petro said he met with the family of a Colombian fisherman who was allegedly killed in one of the attacks on Sunday.
“He might have been carrying fish or he might have been carrying cocaine, but he wasn’t sentenced to death,” Petro told a summit of Latin American and European Union leaders hosted by Colombia on Sunday. “There was no need to kill him.”
The Trump administration accused Petro of being soft on traffickers and criticized the Colombian president’s decision not to extradite Colombian rebel leaders involved in the drug trade to the United States.
The Trump administration accused Petro of being soft on traffickers and criticized the Colombian president’s decision not to extradite Colombian rebel leaders involved in the drug trade to the United States.
In October, the administration imposed financial sanctions on Petro and his family members over accusations that they were involved in the global drug trade.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement after the sanctions were imposed on October 24 that Petro “has allowed drug cartels to thrive and refuses to stop this activity.” “President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and making clear that drug trafficking into our nation will not be tolerated.”
Tensions between the United States and Colombia come as the United States increases its naval presence in the Southern Caribbean with eight warships, a submarine, warplanes and marines deployed to the region. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is also expected to arrive in the Caribbean this month.
Venezuela’s government has described its naval forces as a threat to its sovereignty, and officials in that country have said the U.S. military is preparing to launch an offensive against the embattled government of Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s government has described its naval forces as a threat to its sovereignty, and officials in that country have said the U.S. military is preparing to launch an offensive against the embattled government of Nicolas Maduro.
Although the Trump administration has said the deployment is aimed at reining in drug traffickers, Trump has also hinted that there could be attacks on targets in Venezuela, whose leader has been identified by officials in Washington as the head of a drug cartel.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced Tuesday that military personnel, civilian militia members, police officers and ruling party organizers will be mobilized for a training exercise to protect the country’s airspace. He made his remarks, broadcast on state television, while standing in charge of a surface-to-air missile system at a military base in the capital Caracas, but no training activity was visible anywhere else in the city.
