US Cuts Off Aid to Colombia, Accuses President Petro of Drug-Trafficking Role Amid Caribbean Military Surge

Since late August, the U.S. has deployed guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and about 6,500 troops to the Caribbean region with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking. On Wednesday, three B-52 bombers took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and flew for hours near the coast of Venezuela in what appears to be a major show of force.

Colombia’s Delicate Position

Colombia’s relationship with the United States has historically been close, making the current rupture particularly significant. The Andean country had previously been Washington’s most reliable ally in South America on national security and defense.

Last month, the State Department revoked Petro’s visa while he was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly because of his participation in a protest where he called on American soldiers to stop following Trump’s commands, saying “I ask all the soldiers of the United States’ army, don’t point your rifles against humanity.”

🛑 Colombia is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine, and the cultivation of coca leaves reached an all-time high last year, according to the United Nations. President Petro’s government is left-leaning and historically rooted in the Marxist M-19 guerrilla movement.