Colombia to suspend intelligence cooperation with US over strikes on
drug vessels
[November 12, 2025]
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro
ordered his nation's security forces Tuesday to stop sharing
intelligence with the United States, until the Trump administration
stops its strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as
relations deteriorate between the nations that were once close partners
in the fight against drug trafficking.
In a message on X, Petro wrote that Colombia's military must immediately
end “communications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies"
until the U.S. ceases its attacks on speedboats suspected of carrying
drugs, that critics have likened to extrajudicial executions.
Petro wrote that “the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the
human rights of the Caribbean people.” It wasn't immediately clear what
kind of information Colombia will stop sharing with the United States.
The White House had no immediate response to Petro’s latest statements.
At least 75 people have been killed by the U.S. military in strikes in
international waters since August, according to figures supplied by the
Trump administration. The strikes began in the southern Caribbean, near
Venezuela's shores, but have shifted recently to the eastern Pacific,
where the U.S. has targeted boats off Mexico.
Petro has called for U.S. President Donald Trump to be investigated for
war crimes over the strikes, which have affected citizens of Venezuela,
Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.
The leftist leader has long been a critic of U.S. drug policy, and has
accused the Trump administration of going after peasants growing coca,
the base ingredient of cocaine, instead of targeting major drug
traffickers and money launderers. On Sunday, Petro said that met with
the family of a Colombian fisherman who was allegedly killed in one of
the strikes.
“He may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine,
but he had not been sentenced to death" Petro said during a summit
between Latin American and European Union leaders hosted by Colombia on
Sunday. “There was no need to murder him."
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The Trump administration has accused Petro of being soft on
traffickers, and has criticized the Colombian president's decision
to spare Colombian rebel leaders involved in the drug trade form
extradition to the United States.
In October, the administration placed financial sanctions on Petro
and members of his family, over accusations of involvement in the
global drug trade.
Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this
activity,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement
after the sanctions were issued Oct 24. “President Trump is taking
strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not
tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”
The heightened tensions between the United States and Colombia are
taking place as the U.S. ramps up its naval presence in the southern
Caribbean, with eight warships, a submarine, fighter jets and
marines deployed to the region. An aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald
Ford, is also expected to arrive in the Caribbean this month.
Venezuela's government has described the naval buildup as a threat
to its sovereignty, with officials in that nation saying that the
U.S. military is preparing to launch strikes against the embattled
government of Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration has said its deployment is aimed at curbing
drug traffickers, though Trump has also hinted there could be
strikes on target within Venezuela, whose leader has been described
by officials in Washington as the head of a drug cartel.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced Tuesday
that military personnel, members of a civilian militia, police
officers and ruling-party organizers would be mobilized for a
training exercise to protect the country’s airspace. He delivered
his remarks, broadcast on state television, standing by a
surface-to-air missile system in a military base in the capital,
Caracas, but no training activities could be seen elsewhere in the
city.
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