Colombia halts U.S. arms imports

Colombia's General Commander of the Military Forces, Admiral Francisco Cubides (C), walks on arrival at the Congress to attend the debate on the motion of censure against the Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, in Bogota on September 16, 2025. Cubides assured during an interview with AFP, that the fight against drug trafficking will continue "with or without" the support of the United States, after Washington removed the country from the list of anti-drug allies.

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17 Sep 2025, 19:00

BOGOTA (AFP) — Colombia on Tuesday halted arms purchases from the United States, its biggest military partner, after Washington decertified the South American country as an anti-drugs ally for failing to halt cocaine trafficking.

On Monday, President Donald Trump denounced his leftist Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro for not only failing to curb cocaine production, but overseeing its surge to “all-time records.”

Trump added that as a result he had “designated Colombia as having failed demonstrably to meet its drug control obligations.”

Reacting to the news, Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told Blu Radio that “from this moment on... weapons will not be purchased from the United States.”

Colombian Army Commander Francisco Cubides added that Bogota’s fight to “disrupt the drug trafficking chain” will continue, “with or without American support.”

Trump’s decertification of Colombia, the first in three decades, was seen as mainly symbolic. It was not expected to significantly affect the millions of dollars provided by Washington each year to Bogota to bolster its fight against drug cartels and left-wing guerrillas funded by cocaine trafficking.

Colombia arms purchase halt

U.S. decertifies Colombia

Colombia drug control

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