The President of the United States today announced the end of US financial aid to Bogotá, accusing his Colombian counterpart of not combating drug trafficking in the country, which Gustavo Petro has already denied.
“From today onwards, these payments or any other form of payments or aid will no longer be made” to Colombia, wrote Donald Trump on his Truth Social network, without specifying what aid it was.
Gustavo Petro “does nothing to stop” drug production, he said, accusing the Colombian President of being a “drug baron who strongly encourages the massive production of narcotics” in the Latin American country.
Petro has already responded and stated that Trump “is mistaken” for considering the Colombian head of state “a drug trafficking leader”, noting that he has denounced drug trafficking mafias throughout his career.
“The main enemy of drug trafficking in Colombia, in the 21st century, was the one who discovered relations with Colombia’s political power. That enemy was me”, wrote Petro on the social network X, after Trump announced that he was going to cut financial aid to Colombia due to inaction in the fight against drug trafficking.
“I recommend that Trump take a good look at Colombia and determine where the drug traffickers are and where the Democrats are,” Petro added.
Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Colombia is the South American country that receives the most financial aid from the United States, according to US government data, with more than 740 million dollars (around 63.64 million euros) paid in 2023, the last year for which complete data is available.
Half of these payments are allocated to the fight against drugs. The remainder supports, in particular, humanitarian and food programs.
Until September, Bogotá was considered one of the United States’ 20 anti-drug partners, which allowed it to receive important financial payments.
The White House revoked this statute, citing a “record production” of cocaine and “failed attempts” to negotiate with “narco-terrorist groups.”
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, with a record of 2,600 tons in 2023, that is, 53% more than the previous year, according to the UN.
The head of the Colombian armed forces told the France-Presse news agency in September that Bogotá will continue to fight drug trafficking, even without support from the United States.
The South American country, plunged into a civil war for more than half a century between guerrillas, drug traffickers and government forces, is experiencing the worst security crisis in the last decade, with armed groups profiting from revenues from drug trafficking.
Petro tried to relaunch peace negotiations with most of these groups, six years after the historic disarmament agreement for the former FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas, but most have failed or are at an impasse.