On November 12, 2025, a dramatic rift emerged between Colombia and the United States, as Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his nation’s security forces to immediately suspend all intelligence sharing with U.S. agencies. The move, announced on social media platform X, came in direct response to the Trump administration’s ongoing military strikes against boats in the Caribbean suspected of drug trafficking—a campaign that has killed at least 75 people since August, according to figures cited by the Associated Press and CNN.
"The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people," Petro wrote, signaling a profound shift in Colombia’s posture after decades of close counter-narcotics cooperation with the U.S. The suspension of intelligence sharing is set to remain in place until the U.S. ceases its attacks, which critics have compared to extrajudicial executions. "All levels of law enforcement intelligence are ordered to suspend communications and other dealings with U.S. security agencies," Petro declared, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The rupture is not occurring in a vacuum. It follows mounting international condemnation of the U.S. strikes, which began in September 2025 and have since expanded from the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela, to the eastern Pacific off Mexico. The United Kingdom, a key U.S. ally, suspended its own intelligence cooperation with Washington over the strikes, CNN revealed, citing concerns that the attacks violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings. The UK’s decision marked a significant break from its closest intelligence-sharing partner, reflecting growing skepticism over the legality and morality of the U.S. military’s campaign in the region.
The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Türk, echoed these concerns in October, stating that the strikes violate international law. British officials told CNN they agree with this assessment. Canada, too, has distanced itself from the U.S. military strikes, clarifying that its ongoing partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard under Operation Caribbean is "separate and distinct" from the deadly attacks.
For years, Colombia’s navy and police have worked hand in glove with U.S. counterparts to curb the cocaine trade between the world’s largest producer of the drug and its leading consumer. But the relationship has soured as the Trump administration’s tactics in the Caribbean have grown more aggressive—and more lethal. The administration has claimed it is targeting "narcoterrorists," but has provided little evidence that those killed were in fact involved in drug trafficking. Families in Colombia and elsewhere have reported loved ones disappearing after going out to fish or work at sea, only for their deaths to be confirmed following U.S. strikes.
President Petro, a long-standing critic of U.S. drug policy, has accused the Trump administration of focusing on small-scale coca growers and poor fishermen rather than dismantling the powerful cartels and money laundering networks that underpin the global drug trade. During a summit with Latin American and European Union leaders in Bogotá, Petro recounted meeting the family of a Colombian fisherman 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. There was no need to murder him," Petro said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
The Trump administration, for its part, has fired back with its own accusations. In October, President Trump ordered the suspension of all U.S. aid to Colombia, claiming that the South American nation had failed to effectively combat drug trafficking. Shortly thereafter, the Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Petro and several members of his family, alleging involvement in the global drug trade. "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," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on October 24, 2025.
The U.S. military presence in the Caribbean has also expanded dramatically. In late October, the Pentagon deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group, along with eight warships, a submarine, fighter jets, and marines—a naval buildup not seen since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, according to analysis in The Conversation. The Trump administration insists the deployment is part of counternarcotics operations, though it has also hinted at broader intentions, including possible strikes against the embattled government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, whom U.S. officials have described as the head of a drug cartel.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López responded by announcing the mobilization of military personnel, civilian militias, police, and ruling-party organizers for airspace protection exercises. Standing beside a surface-to-air missile system in Caracas, Padrino López declared Venezuela ready to defend its sovereignty, as reported by the Associated Press. Although no training activities were visible in the city, the message was clear: regional tensions are escalating.
The legality of the U.S. strikes remains deeply contested. Legal experts and critics argue that the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings, noting that Venezuela is not a major producer of cocaine or fentanyl. The U.S. Coast Guard, prior to this shift in tactics, typically interdicted vessels, detained crews, and seized drugs—actions that adhered to due process and legal norms. Now, the military’s strikes have summarily killed most of those aboard, raising questions about evidence, intent, and the destruction of potential contraband.
The Trump administration has justified its actions by designating certain drug cartels as "foreign terrorist groups" and arguing that suspected traffickers are "enemy combatants" engaged in an armed conflict with the U.S. A classified Justice Department memo, cited by CNN, is said to reinforce this argument. However, international law experts point out that such designations do not automatically authorize lethal force, especially against civilians. Several boats hit by U.S. strikes were reportedly stationary or turning around, further undermining claims that they posed an imminent threat.
Even within the U.S. military, doubts have surfaced. Admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command, reportedly offered to resign after raising legal concerns about the strikes in a tense meeting with senior defense officials, according to CNN. Lawyers within the Department of Defense have also questioned the legality of the operations, though Pentagon spokespeople have denied any internal dissent.
In Congress, the response has been mixed. While some Republicans have objected to the military actions, efforts to pass resolutions preventing further strikes in the Caribbean have failed in both the Senate and the House. Vice President JD Vance’s flippant remarks about the killings drew a sharp rebuke from Senator Rand Paul, who wrote on social media, "Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation? What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial."
As the death toll rises and international alliances fray, the future of U.S.-Colombian cooperation against drug trafficking hangs in the balance. The current standoff has exposed deep fissures in the global fight against narcotics—fissures that may take years to heal, if at all.
