He President Gustavo Petro ordered to suspend the sending of communications and other dealings between the intelligence agencies of the Colombian public force and the security agencies of the United States.
The decision, which will be maintained as long as the missile attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean continue, opens a debate on the consequences that could have for national security, international cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking.
For decades, the intelligence relationship between Colombia and the United States has been an essential component in the strategy against drug trafficking. Cooperation agreements have allowed the exchange of information on routesvessels and transnational criminal structures that operate in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
However, President Petro’s order could stop that flow of key information. According to intelligence sources consulted, The suspension will directly affect the coordination of joint operations that allow interdicting drug shipments before they leave Colombian territory.
“Colombia not only loses logistical and technological support, but also access to sensitive information about international criminal organizations,” explained a senior retired Army officer.
For the internationalist Caesar Childthe measure has “profound and worrying” implications for national security.
“The information that Colombian agencies share with the United States is the basis on which many operations are planned. Suspending it leaves Colombia without an essential part of strategic intelligence that comes from foreign powers,” he noted.
The expert added that this decision not only limits the ability of the Colombian State to anticipate threats, but also could increase vulnerability to organized crime networks that operate on borders, coastlines and drug trafficking routes.
The political analyst Carlos Andres Arias considers that the Colombian president’s decision “deepens diplomatic isolation” and deteriorates the bilateral relationship with the United States.
“President Petro insists on a sovereigntist and nationalist discourse that may have internal effects, but that erodes international trust. The US remains the main political partner, economic and security of Colombia,” he warned.
According to Arias, these types of decisions “have costs beyond the military sphere.” A reduction in cooperation could impact technical assistance programsfinancing for the fight against drug trafficking and support in maritime control operations.
Petro’s measure comes amid controversy over US attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, in which, according to the president, 69 people have died. The president has publicly questioned what he considers “extrajudicial executions against Caribbean and Latin American citizens in a state of defenselessness”.
However, Washington has not issued an official response to the Colombian Government’s decision. In diplomatic circles, the measure is seen as a sign of Bogotá’s distancing from US security policy.
The lawyer Andres Jimenezformer delegate for Criminal Finances of the Prosecutor’s Office, indicated that “this suspension can have three readings: political, operational and legal.” Politically, he said, “it deepens the isolation of the Colombian Government”; operationally, “it limits the country’s capabilities to anticipate drug trafficking movements”; and legally, “it strengthens the United States’ argument that Petro’s policies weaken the fight against organized crime.”
In his opinion, “while the US will maintain its air and maritime surveillance“Colombia is left without an information base that would allow it to plan more efficiently.”
The lawyer and expert in international law Wilfredo Robayo He stressed that “not cooperating legally may not have immediate consequences, but it does generate political and economic impacts for the weaker country.” “Colombia depends largely on this cooperation to maintain its position within the international security network. Breaking it, even temporarily, can reduce the country’s credibility with other allies,” he explained.
The suspension of intelligence cooperation marks a turning point in the bilateral relationship with the United States. Although the president Petro argues that it is a sovereign decision based on the defense of human rights, Experts agree that the cost to Colombian security and foreign policy could be high.
In the midst of a regional context of growing crime and illicit trafficking, the country must define to what extent it can sustain a policy of independence without compromising its ability to confront threats that transcend its borders.
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