US–Colombia dispute over anti-drug status prompts suspension of US arms purchases
Colombia suspended arms purchases from the US after Washington removed the South American nation from its list of reliable partners
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (MNTV) — Colombia has suspended all arms purchases from the United States after Washington removed the South American nation from its list of reliable partners in the fight against drug trafficking.
The move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to “decertify” Colombia for what he called its failure to curb cocaine production, which he said had reached record levels under President Gustavo Petro. Trump accused Petro of “failing demonstrably to meet [Colombia’s] drug control obligations.”
Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told Blu Radio, “From this moment on, weapons will not be purchased from the United States.” Army Commander Gen. Francisco Cubides said Bogotá’s efforts to “disrupt the drug trafficking chain” would continue “with or without American support.”
Trump’s action — the first US decertification of Colombia in three decades — is largely symbolic, analysts say, and is not expected to halt the roughly $380 million Washington provides annually for counternarcotics programs. Still, it marks a sharp rebuke of Petro’s policies.
Petro, a former guerrilla who took office in 2022, has pushed to shift the focus of the US-led war on drugs away from forced eradication toward tackling social drivers of trafficking. Coca cultivation has nevertheless risen by about 70% during his tenure, according to UN and Colombian government figures.
On social media, Petro blamed the global rise in cocaine use, particularly in Europe, and argued that US demand has merely shifted to fentanyl, “30 times more deadly.” He vowed Colombia would shed its dependence on “handouts” from Washington.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Israel, criticized Petro as “erratic” and said he had not been a “good partner” in battling cartels.
The dispute comes as Colombia’s security forces face renewed violence from armed groups funded by cocaine profits. On Aug. 21, 12 police officers died when dissident FARC rebels shot down a helicopter during a coca eradication mission in the northwest.
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