Thu Nov 13 18:11:15 UTC 2025: ## Colombia Backtracks on Intelligence Sharing Suspension with US Amid Controversy Over Drug Boat Strikes
Bogota, Colombia – Just days after President Gustavo Petro announced the suspension of intelligence sharing with the United States over controversial attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels, Colombian officials have clarified that cooperation with international agencies combating drug trafficking will continue.
Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez stated on social media that President Petro has issued “clear instructions” to maintain a “continuous flow of information” with agencies focused on transnational crime. Interior Minister Armando Benedetti echoed this sentiment, attributing Petro’s initial announcement to a “misunderstanding.”
“We will continue working as this Government has done against drug trafficking and crime with the United States,” Benedetti stated.
The apparent about-face follows Petro’s earlier criticism of US operations targeting boats in the Caribbean Sea, which the US under the Trump administration accused of smuggling drugs. These strikes have drawn international condemnation, with the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, denouncing them as potential violations of international law and calling for a halt to “extrajudicial killings.”
President Petro has been a vocal critic of the US strategy, accusing the US of targeting coca farmers rather than major drug traffickers. He cited the case of a Colombian fisherman allegedly killed in one of the strikes, stating, “He may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine, but he had not been sentenced to death.”
The US has defended its actions as necessary to deter drug trafficking. The Trump administration had also sanctioned Petro himself, accusing him of involvement in drug trafficking, allegations Petro has vehemently denied.
Amid the controversy, CNN reported that the United Kingdom had suspended some intelligence sharing with the US over the boat strikes. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed this report as “fake,” without providing further details.
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