US designates Colombia as failing to cooperate in the drug war for first time in nearly 30 years
September 15, 2025
The Trump administration has added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in nearly three decades. But the U.S. also issued a waiver blocking any major aid cut to the staunch ally. The move Monday reflects a decade-long boom in cocaine production in Colombia and a slowdown in coca eradication under President Gustavo Petro’s leftist administration. The U.S. last added Colombia to the list in 1997 when the country’s cartels had infiltrated the highest levels of power. Since 2000, U.S. administrations have sent billions of dollars in aid to Colombia. The cooperation began to unravel a decade ago when a program to spray coca fields with glyphosate was suspended.