Colombia’s President Petro decries US claim Bogota failing to fight drugs

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro appeared visibly frustrated aft United States President Donald Trump designated Colombia among respective countries Washington believes person “failed” to cooperate successful the planetary fight against drugs.

On Monday evening, Trump added Colombia to a database of countries that included Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Venezuela arsenic having “failed demonstrably” during the past 12 months to “adhere to obligations nether planetary counternarcotics agreements and instrumentality measures required” against cause trafficking.

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“Under Petro’s misguided leadership, coca cultivation & cocaine accumulation successful Colombia has accrued to historical levels,” the US State Department said connected the X societal media level pursuing the announcement of the “presidential determination” connected large cause transit and producing countries.

President Trump “has determined that the Colombian authorities failed to uphold its cause power obligations, but helium has issued a waiver truthful captious US cooperation, including connected counter-narcotics, tin continue. Results substance – we indispensable spot advancement and it indispensable beryllium soon!” the State Department added.

Responding earlier to the study that Colombia had been “decertified” arsenic an state of Washington successful the combat against drugs, Petro said: “The United States is decertifying america aft dozens of deaths of constabulary officers and soldiers” successful the combat against cause cartels and equipped groups funded by cause trafficking.

“They decertify america aft we are the ones who person seized the astir cocaine successful each of history, the ones who person dismantled thousands of laboratories,” Petro told a furniture meeting.

“What we are doing does not truly person to bash with the Colombian people,” helium said, according to the Reuters quality agency.

“Rather, it is to halt American nine from getting their noses soiled from the tendency to work, work, work,” helium added, successful an evident notation to the stimulant effects of cocaine.

Ustedes comienzan por una mentira fáctica señores US embassy. El crecimiento de cultivos de coca se presenta en el gobierno de Duque, y con fumigación forzada. Es la política de los EEUU la que ha fallado.

Para que disminuyan los cultivo de hoja de coca lo que se necesita nary es… https://t.co/qwA499APT0

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 16, 2025

Translation: “You statesman with a factual lie, gentlemen of the US embassy. The maturation of coca crops occurred during the authorities of Duque, and with forced fumigation. It is the argumentation of the United States that has failed. For the cultivation of coca leafage to decrease, what is needed is not glyphosate dropped from tiny planes, but a simplification successful the request for cocaine, fundamentally successful the US and Europe.”

Decertification is seen arsenic a punishment for countries not complying with anti-drug efforts and whitethorn see sanctions – which the White House tin waive – including cuts to US assistance and Washington voting against the contented of loans, recognition and different forms of assistance from improvement banks to “decertified” countries.

The US listing of countries that it says person failed successful counternarcotic efforts came aft Trump said the US subject had carried retired a onslaught connected an alleged Venezuelan cause vas connected Monday that killed 3 radical successful planetary waters.

It marks the 2nd onslaught by US forces connected seagoing vessels successful caller weeks, pursuing the reported sidesplitting by US forces of 11 radical successful a onslaught connected a velocity boat, which officials successful Caracas described arsenic an extrajudicial slaying.

Human rights experts person besides called into question the legality of specified lethal attacks by US forces successful planetary waters connected victims that airs nary contiguous menace to US interests.

In his statesmanlike determination connected Monday, Trump erstwhile again took purpose astatine Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, whom helium accused of being the person of “one of the largest cocaine trafficking networks successful the world”.

“The United States volition proceed to question to bring Maduro and different members of his complicit authorities to justness for their crimes. We volition besides people Venezuelan overseas violent organisations specified arsenic Tren de Aragua and purge them from our country,” helium said.

As Al Jazeera reported earlier successful September, however, UN Office connected Drugs and Crime (UNODC) information shows that portion Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are the starring sources of cocaine trafficking, Venezuela does not fig precocious successful the database of large producers.

In its latest study connected cocaine smuggling, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) concluded that Colombia was the root of 85 percent of the cause entering the country. Venezuela did not adjacent get a notation successful the report.

Regarding Bolivia, Trump said “much enactment remains” for the state “to consistently uphold its counter-drug commitments and guarantee that it is not a harmless haven for narco-trafficking groups to thrive”.

In Afghanistan, helium said that contempt the Taliban government’s announced prohibition connected cause production, the “flow of drugs” continues to planetary markets.

“Some members of the Taliban proceed to nett from this trade, and I americium erstwhile again designating Afghanistan arsenic having failed demonstrably to uphold its cause power obligations fixed the superior threats to United States interests and planetary security,” helium said.

While Myanmar – referred to by its erstwhile sanction “Burma” successful the papers – was named, the statesmanlike determination did not connection further details of delinquency arsenic successful the lawsuit of Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela.

The Washington Office connected Latin America (WOLA), a US-based advocacy and quality rights group, said past week that “decertification” of countries considered by the US to beryllium substandard successful their counter-drug efforts was “an antiquated, blunt, counterproductive overseas argumentation instrumentality that should nary longer exist”.

“The White House indispensable not usage decertification to punish the radical of Colombia, a longtime spouse federation that has been the world’s largest cocaine shaper since the 1990s, and is present facing mounting information challenges,” WOLA said.

While Petro’s authorities has “failed to conscionable its ain information and governance objectives”, including warring drugs, “this owes much to mediocre absorption and enactment failures than to malice oregon immoderate inclination to payment cause traffickers,” the radical said.

“A decertification would straight harm the Colombian radical and trim the Colombian government’s quality to support them from convulsive transgression and insurgent groups,” it added.