Colombia Halts Intelligence Sharing With U.S. Over Controversial Caribbean Drug Strikes

BOGOTÁ — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday ordered the nation's security forces to stop sharing intelligence with the United States until Washington ends strikes on suspected drug-running speedboats in the Caribbean. The move highlights rising tensions between two former partners in the fight against narcotics trafficking.

In a post on X, Petro directed Colombia's military to immediately suspend "communications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies" while the U.S. continues operations against speedboats suspected of carrying narcotics — actions critics say resemble extrajudicial killings.

Petro argued that "the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people." It was not immediately clear which types of intelligence or specific operational cooperation Colombia would cease. The White House did not offer an immediate comment on Petro's announcement.

According to figures released by the Trump administration, at least 75 people have been killed by U.S. military strikes in international waters since August. The campaign began in the southern Caribbean near Venezuela's coast and has more recently shifted to the eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces have targeted boats off Mexico.

Petro has called for an investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump for possible war crimes related to the strikes, which officials say have affected nationals of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. The Colombian president, a long-standing critic of U.S. drug policy, says Washington's efforts have focused on peasant coca growers — the raw material for cocaine — rather than on major traffickers and money launderers.

"He may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine, but he had not been sentenced to death,"

Petro said during a summit of Latin American and European Union leaders, referring to a Colombian fisherman who relatives say was killed in one of the strikes. "There was no need to murder him."

The Trump administration has accused Petro of being lenient toward traffickers and criticized his decision to bar extradition for Colombian rebel leaders involved in the drug trade. In October, U.S. officials imposed financial sanctions on Petro and members of his family over alleged involvement in the global drug trade. After those sanctions were announced, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures were intended to "protect our nation" and to make clear that U.S. authorities "will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation."

The diplomatic rift comes as the United States increases its naval presence in the southern Caribbean: an eight-ship surface group, a submarine, fighter jets and marines have been deployed to the region, and the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is expected to arrive this month.

Venezuela's government has denounced the U.S. buildup as a threat to its sovereignty and warned it could presage strikes against the administration of President Nicolás Maduro. Washington says the deployment is aimed at curbing drug trafficking, though President Trump has at times suggested strikes could extend to targets inside Venezuela and has publicly accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced a mobilization of military personnel, militia members, police and ruling-party organizers for exercises to protect the country's airspace. He spoke on state television beside a surface-to-air missile system at a Caracas military base; no additional training activity was visible elsewhere in the capital.

What’s next: The scope and duration of Colombia's suspension of cooperation remain unclear, and the announcement is likely to complicate regional efforts to tackle transnational drug trafficking. International observers and neighboring governments will be watching for any changes to operational coordination at sea.