Colombia to continue work with U.S. on drug trafficking, govt. says

Colombia will continue ‍to work with the United States to fight ​drug trafficking using Washington’s intelligence and technology, ‌the South American nation said ​on Monday (January 5, 2025).

“The government of Colombia has let the U.S. government know … that we are going to keep coordinating and cooperating in the fight against drug trafficking,” Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said in a ​video with Justice Minister Andres ⁠Idarraga sent to journalists by the government.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (January 4) called his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro “sick” ​and said ⁠a U.S. military operation in the country was possible.

Over the weekend, U.S. troops entered Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, who ‌on Monday (January 5) pleaded not guilty ‌in a New York court to narco-terrorism charges.

Mr. Benedetti said that Colombia’s anti-drug ‍operations would target drug laboratories, criminal organisations and their camps.

“We will continue to emphasize ‍the fight against this scourge, particularly on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” Mr. Idarraga said.

Colombia has criticized Trump’s Sunday (January 4) comments and said any potential U.S. incursion would be “undue interference.”

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said there was a “golden opportunity” to strengthen international collaboration against drug trafficking.

The U.S. ⁠is pressuring Colombia to ramp up its fight against drug trafficking as ​cultivation of the coca leaf, the raw material ⁠used to make cocaine, has jumped in recent years.

Mr. Petro’s government maintains that it has seized unprecedented levels of cocaine including nearly 1,000 metric tons ⁠in 2025.