The United States has formally designated Colombia as a country that has "demonstrably failed" to uphold its obligations in the international effort to combat drug trafficking, marking the first time Colombia has been added to the annual U.S. decertification list since 1997.
The determination, submitted to Congress on Monday by the Trump administration, argues that cocaine production in Colombia rose to record levels during the tenure of President Gustavo Petro and attributes the deterioration in counternarcotics performance in part to Petro's peace negotiations with armed groups that Washington characterizes as financing themselves through drug trafficking. The document praised the "skill and courage" of Colombia's security forces while concluding that "the failure of Colombia to meet its drug control obligations over the past year rests solely with its political leadership." The administration nonetheless said it would not cut off U.S. aid to Colombia, citing "U.S. national interests," and left open the possibility of recertifying Bogotá if it takes more aggressive action to eradicate coca and reduce cocaine production and trafficking.
Colombia was one of five countries the United States identified as failing to meet counternarcotics targets; the other nations named were Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Venezuela. Each year, the U.S. government certifies whether partner countries are fully cooperating with U.S.-led counternarcotics efforts, a designation that can expose them to reductions in U.S. assistance or other sanctions.
Bogotá pushed back against the U.S. assessment. President Petro denied responsibility for a reported surge in coca cultivation and cocaine production under his administration and said that substantial increases occurred during the 2018–2022 government of his predecessor, Iván Duque. Petro and Colombian officials highlighted internal enforcement efforts, noting that a record 1,764 tonnes of cocaine were seized by Colombian security forces between August 2022, when Petro took office, and November 2024, and that seizures remained high in 2025 according to official tallies.
Independent monitoring by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found a 10% increase in the area under coca cultivation in Colombia in 2023; UNODC figures for 2024 were expected to be released the month following the U.S. determination. Colombian officials and Petro also emphasized the role of consumer demand in the United States and Europe in sustaining the cocaine trade, urging policies aimed at reducing demand.
The U.S. determination criticized Petro's outreach to armed groups, saying his "failed attempts to seek accommodations with narco-terrorist groups only exacerbated the crisis." It added that Colombia's political leadership had not met agreed obligations, but allowed that recertification and continued cooperation could follow if Bogotá intensified eradication and interdiction efforts.
Analysts and Colombian officials said the move was likely to further strain ties between Petro's left-wing government and the Trump administration. BBC News Mundo correspondent José Carlos Cueto noted that while the strong rhetoric from Washington had angered Bogotá, the lack of an immediate aid cutoff offered some relief to the Colombian government.
The designation comes amid a U.S. push to prioritize action against drug-trafficking networks in the hemisphere. On the same day as the certification announcement, President Trump said the U.S. military had destroyed an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel in international waters in the South Caribbean and reported three fatalities, asserting U.S. evidence linked the boat to narco-terrorist groups; the evidence has not been publicly released. The administration has framed such operations as part of a broader campaign against narcotics flows to U.S. and allied markets.
The annual certification process requires the U.S. executive branch to determine whether partner countries are cooperating with U.S. counternarcotics drug control efforts. Designations that find countries lacking can trigger statutory restrictions on certain types of assistance, though the president may waive some consequences for national interest reasons, as the administration did in Colombia's case. The White House determination signals heightened U.S. expectations for stepped-up eradication and interdiction measures in Bogotá, even as Colombian officials underscore enforcement achievements and call for international efforts to reduce drug demand.