“There is a misunderstanding”Colombia maintains intelligence cooperation with America
Following a US raid on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, Colombian President Petro announced that he would no longer share information with security authorities in Washington. But now the government in Bogota is starting to back down. It said there was a “misinterpretation”.
Contrary to previously announced decisions, Colombia will continue to cooperate with the United States in the field of intelligence information. “There was a misinterpretation on the part of the Colombian press and some high-ranking government officials,” Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said via online service.
Against the backdrop of rising tensions between Bogotá and Washington, leftist President Petro announced on Tuesday via the online service X that he had ordered the suspension of “communication transmissions and other interactions with US security authorities.” The US has previously sent warships to the Caribbean and attacked vessels suspected of smuggling drugs there. At least 76 people died in the attack.
The opposition and army have previously described the possibility of ending cooperation as unreasonable. Cocaine production in Colombia has reached record levels and the United States is seen as the country’s ally in the fight against drug trafficking. However, since US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House at the beginning of the year, relations between the two countries have worsened.
A few weeks ago, Trump insulted his Colombian counterpart as a “gangster and a bad person” and – without providing any evidence – accused him of involvement in drug trafficking and imposed sanctions against him. Petro, on the other hand, criticized the deadly attacks on ships that have occurred since early September, mainly off the coast of Venezuela, as “extrajudicial executions.”
According to experts, ending intelligence cooperation between the two countries would be a blessing for armed drug gangs in Colombia. But for Washington, such a move could also mean that more drugs could reach the United States – the world’s largest drug target market. The Trump administration is close to the right-wing opposition in Colombia, which wants to win parliamentary and presidential elections in 2026 and bring about a change in power.
