The diplomatic relationship between Colombia and the United States has been thrust into the global spotlight after a series of deadly U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, allegedly targeting drug traffickers. The fallout has been swift and dramatic, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro initially announcing a suspension of intelligence sharing with Washington, only for his government to later clarify its continued commitment to international cooperation against drug trafficking. The controversy has exposed deep divisions not only between Bogotá and Washington, but also among U.S. allies, and has raised urgent questions about the legality and morality of the U.S. campaign.
On November 13, 2025, Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez stated via social media that President Petro had given "clear instructions" to maintain a "continuous flow of information" with international agencies combating drug trafficking. This assurance came just days after Petro’s public declaration that Colombia would suspend communications and dealings with U.S. security agencies in protest of the U.S. strikes, which have killed at least 76 people since the campaign began in September, according to Reuters.
The confusion over Colombia’s stance was further clarified by Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, who said there had been "a misunderstanding" and emphasized that U.S. and Colombian agencies would continue to work together against drug trafficking. "We will continue working as this Government has done against drug trafficking and crime with the United States," Benedetti wrote on social media, seeking to reassure both domestic and international audiences that Colombia remained committed to joint anti-narcotics efforts.
Yet, President Petro’s criticism of the U.S. campaign has been unflinching. In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News, Petro declared, "Intelligence is not for killing," explaining his initial decision to halt intelligence sharing. He described U.S. President Donald Trump as a "barbarian" who "wants to frighten us," and condemned the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean as "undoubtedly an aggression against Latin America." Petro insisted that Colombia would not "pass on the information because we would be collaborating with a crime against humanity."
The U.S. campaign, which has involved at least 19 strikes on boats allegedly carrying illegal drugs, has been justified by Trump on the grounds that the United States is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels. Trump has claimed, without providing evidence, that these boats are operated by foreign terrorist organizations flooding American cities with narcotics. Some U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, have pressed for more information on the legal basis for the strikes and who is being targeted, as reported by NBC News.
International reaction has been sharply critical. United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk called the attacks "unacceptable," stating, "The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them." French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, at the start of a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Canada, said the strikes "violate international law" and expressed concern for France’s territories in the region. According to NBC News, the United Kingdom has reportedly suspended some intelligence sharing with the U.S. over concerns about the legality of the strikes, a claim U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed as "fake."
Adding another layer of controversy, a classified opinion from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, issued over the summer, asserted that U.S. personnel involved in the strikes would not face future prosecution. This memo, reported by The Washington Post on November 12, 2025, effectively provides legal cover for the U.S. military actions in the region, despite mounting international condemnation.
Petro has been outspoken in his opposition to the U.S. approach, arguing that the strikes disproportionately target impoverished boatmen rather than the true kingpins of the drug trade. "They are poor boatmen, they know how to drive a boat, they are hired in their poverty by the gangsters. But gangsters don’t sit on the boats," he told NBC News. "Then when one of those missiles arrives [it] kills that boatman. It doesn’t kill the drug trafficker."
Petro’s criticism has not been limited to the morality of the strikes. He has also challenged Trump’s personal accusations against him. Trump has accused Petro of being involved in drug trafficking and imposed sanctions on the Colombian president and his family. In response, Petro said, "Trump’s insult is at odds with reality, how can he call the largest destroyer of cocaine a chief trafficker?" He further dismissed Trump as "lost on the issue of the real analysis of what is going on with cocaine in Colombia," suggesting that the U.S. president was being misled by his own officials.
The diplomatic spat has also spilled over into Colombia’s relations with its neighbors. Trump has leveled similar accusations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, confirming covert CIA operations inside Venezuela. While Petro did not endorse Maduro, he questioned the legitimacy of Venezuela’s leadership, saying, "No, I believe that there has been no legitimate leadership for some time." Still, Petro struck a defiant tone about Trump’s regional maneuvers: "He wants to frighten us. Fear is not the same as the facts."
Behind the diplomatic wrangling lies the tragic human cost of the strikes. On November 9, 2025, Petro met with the family of a Colombian fisherman allegedly killed in one of the U.S. attacks. Speaking at a summit of Latin American and European leaders, Petro said, "He may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine, but he had not been sentenced to death. There was no need to murder him." The statement underscored his insistence on due process and the "civilized treatment of people," arguing that suspects should be seized and detained, not killed without trial.
Despite the heated rhetoric, Colombia’s official position now appears to be a careful balancing act: maintaining vital cooperation with international partners against drug trafficking, while forcefully opposing what it sees as unlawful and inhumane tactics. As the debate continues, the world is left to ponder the cost of the war on drugs—not just in terms of narcotics seized or traffickers apprehended, but in the lives lost and the international norms potentially eroded along the way.
