Overview

• President Donald Trump’s determination put Colombia on the list of countries that “failed demonstrably,” blaming President Gustavo Petro’s leadership for record coca cultivation and cocaine production.
• U.S. aid continues under a waiver, but Washington warned it could curtail funding and cooperation unless Bogotá ramps up eradication and works more closely on prosecutions.
• UN data show coca crops reached 253,000 hectares in 2023, while manual eradication under Petro has fallen to about 5,048 hectares this year even as seizures hit a record 884 metric tons last year.
• Petro denounced the move as a “factual lie,” saying coca expansion occurred under his predecessor and arguing U.S. and European demand drives the cocaine market.
• The decision lands as the U.S. intensifies militarized interdiction, including two recent lethal strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats, deepening bilateral strain.