🔗 Share this article

US authorities has formally labeled Colombia as a nation that has “demonstrably failed” its responsibilities to control illegal drug operations, although refraining from halting US aid to the nation.

Each year, the American administration officially assesses whether several nations are completely collaborating with US-led anti-narcotics initiatives, and those deemed insufficient face the possibility of having their Washington-backed support suspended.

Recently, the Trump administration stated that narcotics manufacturing in Colombia had increased to all-time high levels under its left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, a claim that the Colombian leader rejected.

Reacting, the leadership stated it would halt purchasing weapons from the America.

Cabinet member Armando Benedetti informed media outlets that his administration would stop the purchase of military hardware "starting now".

Additional countries the America said had not achieved their objectives were the Central Asian nation, the South American country, Myanmar and Venezuela.

The country was included on the designation for the first time since the late 1990s.

This decision is likely to damage diplomatic ties between its left-wing government and the US government.

Gustavo Petro turned to digital channels to respond to the Washington's accusation that during his tenure the area planted with coca plants and the manufacture of cocaine had hit unprecedented amounts.

This vegetation are the key ingredient in cocaine, and the country has long been the leading producer of the illicit substance.

Research by the international body (the organization) showed that coca bush cultivation had grown by 10% in the previous year. Data for this year are due to be released next month.

Yet the leader maintained that it had been during the administration of the former president, who was in power from 2018 to 2022, that the region planted with coca recorded substantial rises.

Based on data issued by the government, a historic 1,764 metric tons of cocaine were confiscated by law enforcement between August 2022 and late 2024. Interceptions have remained at a high level in 2025, authoritative data show.

Gustavo Petro also remarked that for the growing of coca to drop, what was needed was for demand for cocaine to fall in the United States and in Europe.

America on the other hand put the blame squarely at the president’s feet, saying that the leader’s negotiations with multiple armed groups — several of whom generate income through illegal drug activities — had obstructed the struggle against narcotics.

"His failed attempts to seek accommodations with criminal networks only intensified the situation," an official document presented to Washington legislators declared.

It proceeds to commend the "competence and valor" of the nation’s military in facing illegal organizations.

It further stated that "the shortcoming of Colombia to meet its drug control obligations over the previous year rests exclusively with its administration".

However, it leaves the door open to recertifying Colombia if its leadership "adopts firmer steps to remove coca and lower cocaine output and distribution".

Even as the language issued by American authorities has upset President Petro, his government will also be relieved that the decertification did not result in a halt of the financial support, analysts suggest.

Colombia's decertification happens at a moment when Donald Trump has made the fight against "criminal groups" a priority.

Recently, he revealed that the US military had destroyed an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel in international waters in the Caribbean region.

A number of persons were lost their lives in the strike, the president stated.

He added the United States had obtained evidence that the boats belonged to narco-terrorist groups but has not yet released the proof.