He President Gustavo Petro announced an unprecedented measure in the bilateral relations between Colombia and the United States. Through his
According to the head of state, these attacks, which would have caused the death of at least 69 personasconstitute “extrajudicial executions against Caribbean and Latin American citizens in a state of defenselessness”.
Petro’s decision comes after CNN revealed that The United Kingdom suspended intelligence sharing with the United States. on vessels suspected of trafficking drugs. According to the American media, London does not want to “be complicit in illegal attacks” and considers that military actions violate international standards.
Petro took up that argument to demand respect for human rights in the fight against drugs. “What they do by launching missiles against poor boatmen whether or not they serve cocaine operations are nothing more than extrajudicial executions,” the president wrote in a previous publication in X.
During the recent Celac–European Union summitheld in Santa Marta, the Colombian president compared the situation with the attacks in Gaza: “The same missiles that fall there, fall here, in the Caribbean, on poor people.”
So far, the Colombian government has not detailed which exact instances will stop sharing information with Washington. However, the order would cover key agencies such as the Police Intelligence Directorate (Dipol)the Naval Intelligencethe Air and Cyber Intelligenceand the Department of Military Counterintelligence.
Intelligence cooperation between both countries has been one of the pillars of security policy in the last three decades. The United States has been a central ally in operations against drug trafficking, illegal mining and organized crime. Analysts warn that a prolonged suspension could affect the Colombian State’s ability to confront transnational criminal networks.
According to the information released by Petro himself, at least four of the 18 vessels sunk by the US in the Caribbean and the Pacific would be related to Colombia.
One of the cases most mentioned by the president was that of Alejandro Carranzaa Colombian fisherman who died after a bombing that occurred on September 15. Another survivor Jonathan Obando Pérezwas rescued by US forces and later handed over to Colombia, although he was released due to lack of evidence.
On October 17, another attack was attributed to a boat allegedly linked to the National Liberation Army (ELN). Days later, US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, admitted that one of the first Pacific operations was carried out “off the Colombian coast.”
So far, the United States Government has not issued any official statement regarding the Colombian president’s decision. However, the measure could further strain relations between Bogotá and Washington on security issues. security, anti-drug cooperation and defense.
Meanwhile, Petro insists that Colombia cannot be complicit in actions that, according to him, violate human rights in the region. “I demand that respect for the life and dignity of the people of the Caribbean and Latin America be returned,” the president concluded.
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