The Trump administration recalled its top diplomat in Colombia, John McNamara, for “urgent consultations” on Thursday in response to what it described as “baseless and reprehensible” statements from senior Colombian officials. While the State Department did not specify which remarks prompted the move, it indicated that further actions would follow. In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro recalled his country’s ambassador to the U.S., citing the need to reassess the bilateral relationship.
Tensions between the two nations have been rising, exacerbated by the recent shooting of opposition Senator Miguel Uribe, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed on inflammatory rhetoric from Colombia’s far-left government.
Earlier in the year, President Petro refused to accept deportation flights from the U.S., prompting President Trump to threaten tariffs and sanctions; however, that dispute was ultimately defused. Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia resigned amid the diplomatic fallout.
The deterioration in bilateral relations comes as Colombia’s security situation has deteriorated under President Petro’s leftist regime. Once a close ally of the U.S., Colombia has descended into crime and chaos, with coca cultivation surging.
Coca cultivation rose 10% last year to 253,000 hectares — enough to produce more than 2,600 tons of the drug. The National Liberation Army, or ELN, capitalized on the boom, seizing full control of the Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border, one of the world’s most prolific drug corridors. -Bloomberg
Petro’s “total peace” policy—centered on negotiating with drug cartels—has deeply frustrated the Trump administration, which has spent several months seeking to dismantle cartel command-and-control networks across the Americas to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S.
According to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, Petro’s perceived lack of cooperation on narcotics trafficking is a significant source of the tension with Washington. The situation has led to a pending decision in which the Trump administration may decertify Colombia as a reliable partner in the war on drugs, as early as this fall.
“Washington’s relationship with Bogotá is rapidly going from bad to worse,” Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in the U.S. capital, told Bloomberg.
Petro has publicly accused “right-wing extremists” of plotting to overthrow his government—an allegation that underscores internal power struggles and suggests growing political instability within the country.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/05/2025 – 22:45
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Tyler Durden
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://zerohedge.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.