Colombian president Gustavo Petro on Tuesday lashed out at the US Government after it added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in three decades. In a message on his X account, the leftist leader accused the United States of seeking to “participate” in Colombian politics and looking for a “puppet president” as the country prepares for presidential elections next year. “The Colombian people will reply if they want a puppet president... Or a free and sovereign nation” Petro wrote, adding in another message that he would not let his nation “kneel” to US interests and allow peasants who grow coca to get “beaten up”.
On Monday, the Trump administration designated Colombia as a country that is failing to meet its international commitments to fight drug trafficking and blamed the Colombian Government for a lack of progress in the fight against the cocaine trade. The designation, known as decertification, is a stunning rebuke for a traditional US ally. It comes amid a recent surge in cocaine production and fraying ties between the White House and Colombia’s first leftist president. Even as the US determined that Colombia has failed to comply with international anti-narcotics obligations, the Trump administration issued a waiver of sanctions that would have triggered major aid cuts.