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3d ago

U.S. Decertifies Colombia on Counternarcotics but Keeps Aid Flowing

The White House used a national-interest waiver to maintain assistance as it presses Bogotá to intensify eradication or risk future cuts.

A cocaine base laboratory is pictured in the middle of Coca plantations in the Micay Valley (Canon del Micay) near El Plateado, Cauca department, Colombia on March 8, 2025.
Colombian soldiers take part in an operation to eradicate illicit crops in Tumaco, Narino Department, Colombia on December 30, 2020.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the press on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, U.S., September 7, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

Overview

  • President Trump’s determination names Colombia as having “failed demonstrably” for the first time since 1997, alongside Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Venezuela.
  • Assistance continues under a waiver, though reporting notes roughly $380 million in U.S. anti-narcotics support could be jeopardized if Colombia does not change course.
  • Trump blamed President Gustavo Petro’s leadership for record coca cultivation and said he would consider reversing the designation if Colombia takes more aggressive eradication and enforcement steps.
  • UN and official data cited in coverage show coca cultivation at a record 253,000 hectares in 2023, manual eradication down to about 5,048 hectares this year from 68,000 in 2021, and seizures of 654 metric tons so far this year after a record 884 metric tons in 2024.
  • Tensions have escalated as Petro criticized recent U.S. lethal strikes on suspected drug vessels and lamented the decision after deaths of Colombian security forces, while a senior Bogotá delegation had sought re-certification in Washington last week.