Farmers walk through a banana plantation in Naranjal, in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on October 8. Clinging to the conviction that “change is possible and there is a better future,” more than 100 families in the village of Naranjal have decided to plant fruit and coffee instead of coca, with what they produce already guaranteed a buyer. Photo by Ernesto Guzmán/EPA
After an escalation of tension between the United States and Colombia, President Gustavo Petro met with John McNamara, the U.S. chargé d’affaires and head of mission in Bogotá, in what marked the first step toward easing the current impasse in bilateral relations.
According to Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, during the meeting held in Bogotá on Monday, senior officials reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to improving anti-narcotics strategies and doing so in a coordinated manner.
President Donald Trump announced the suspension of all economic, military and social aid to Colombia, accusing Petro of being “a leader of drug trafficking” and of allowing “mass drug production to become the country’s biggest business.”
The statement came after Petro criticized U.S. attacks on vessels in the Caribbean that, according to Trump, were carrying drugs.
The suspension of U.S. assistance leaves Petro facing one of the most serious crises of his administration, as Colombia stands to lose financial support in key areas such as security, justice, rural development and human rights — affecting ongoing programs in vulnerable regions.
It also jeopardizes implementation of the Total Peace Plan, the centerpiece of Petro’s government, which aims to end multiple armed conflicts and transform territories most affected by violence — but relies heavily on international funding.
María Claudia Lacouture, executive director of the Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce, told El Universal, “This is a time to think calmly. Colombia must protect its relationship with the United States; it’s a strategic one.”
Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Business Association of Colombia, told El Tiempo that “a president who provokes, blusters and tries to elicit reactions from the U.S. president is not being strategic.”
Although the amount varied each year, Colombia has received between $400 million and $450 million in recent fiscal years, with $401 million approved for 2024 and $232 million disbursed in 2025, according to data from ForeignAssistance.gov.
The funds are distributed across six strategic areas supporting more than 550 active programs nationwide: rural development, security, justice, environment, human rights and anti-narcotics efforts.
The most affected area is rural development and the substitution for illicit crops, which had received about $65 million annually for productive projects in various regions. In security and defense, $50 million for military training and joint operations was suspended, weakening the Colombian government’s operational capacity in conflict zones.
Another $30 million for institutional and judicial strengthening was halted, affecting legal reforms, judge training and anti-corruption efforts.
Anti-narcotics cooperation lost $40 million, limiting aerial eradication of crops, satellite monitoring and shared intelligence. In the social sector, $25 million in aid benefiting victims of the armed conflict and Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities was suspended.
Finally, $10 million was halted in environmental and climate cooperation, affecting conservation projects in the Amazon, Sierra Nevada and Orinoquía.
Since the launch of “Plan Colombia” in 2000, the United States has been the main provider of economic and military assistance for Colombia’s anti-narcotics efforts.
With Petro’s rise to power in 2022, Colombia adopted a new approach: voluntary substitution of illicit crops, suspension of aerial fumigation and a focus on rural development.
However, results have been limited. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the area under coca cultivation in Colombia grew by 10% between 2022 and 2023, keeping the country as the world’s largest producer. The same report found that potential cocaine production increased by 53%.
In September, the U.S. State Department officially removed Colombia from its list of countries that actively cooperate fighting against drug trafficking.
That was followed by Colombia’s decertification as a cooperating country in anti-narcotics efforts, made official on Sept. 15.
As a result of that measure, the country was excluded from preferential access to multilateral funds from organizations, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, directly affecting its ability to finance social, environmental and rural development projects in vulnerable regions.
During the meeting with McNamara, Petro reiterated the importance of the United States relying on real data about Colombia’s anti-drug efforts, saying his government has achieved the strongest results in coca leaf seizures. Coca can be refined to make cocaine.
According to figures from Colombia’s Defense Ministry, coca leaf cultivation began to slow in 2021, when it grew 43%; in 2022 it increased 13%; in 2023, 9.8%; and in 2024, only 3%.
In terms of cocaine seizures, the ministry reported a 32% increase in 2021, a 1% decrease in 2022, and increases of 13% in 2023 and 19% in 2024.
