Colombia Halts US Arms Purchases Amid Drug Policy Dispute

By Staff, Agencies

Colombia has announced it will stop purchasing military equipment from the United States, escalating tensions after Washington moved to decertify Bogotá’s anti-drug efforts.

“From now on, weapons will not be purchased from the United States,” Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told local media on Tuesday. President Gustavo Petro reinforced the message, stressing that Colombia would end its reliance on external “handouts”.

The decision came a day after US President Donald Trump accused Petro of failing to curb cocaine production, claiming instead that cultivation had risen to “all-time records”.

Trump said he would designate Colombia as having “failed demonstrably” to meet its drug control obligations.

The accusations directly challenge Petro’s alternative approach to the drug crisis. His government has prioritized social and economic solutions, including programs that help farmers transition from coca cultivation to cacao, coffee, and sustainable agriculture.

Despite this, Colombian authorities have also carried out targeted raids that dismantled multiple cocaine labs in remote regions, while expanding intelligence-sharing and modernizing security forces to confront guerrilla remnants and criminal groups.

Petro has argued that the surge in coca production is driven less by domestic negligence and more by global demand, particularly in Europe.

He has also pointed to the US opioid crisis, noting that fentanyl use complicates anti-drug strategies as dealers increasingly mix the substance into heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines.

The dispute unfolds as Colombia faces serious internal security challenges. On August 21, dissidents from the former FARC guerrilla movement downed a helicopter during an anti-coca operation in the northwest, killing 12 police officers.

At the same time, Bogotá has sharpened its criticism of “Israeli” atrocities against Palestinians, including the ongoing war on Gaza since October 2023. Petro’s outspoken stance has placed his government further at odds with Washington, which remains one of “Israel’s” closest allies.