The United States Government has decertified Colombia in the fight against drugs that has been carried out for decades, considering that the current National Government has not complied"demonstrably" with the objectives set out within the framework of the North American country's Foreign Assistance Law.
Although Washington clarified that the country will not face sanctions for this fact, decertification poses different risks for Colombia, such as a reduction in the number of non-resident foreign visitors, the attraction of foreign investment, a weakening of international cooperation and less multilateral financing.
"Under President Petro's leadership, coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record levels, while the Colombian government has not even met its own coca eradication goals, which were considerably reduced, which has undermined years of mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries against narcoterrorism," tweeted the US State Department.
(More: United States decertifies Colombia in anti-drug fight, but will not impose sanctions).
This message was reinforced shortly after by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from Tel Aviv, who said,"Unfortunately, they now have a president who, in addition to being erratic, has not been a good partner in the fight against the drug cartels. So, under his leadership, they simply do not meet the standards," referring to Gustavo Petro.
'I will not bring the Nation to its knees'
The head of state, who had anticipated the news of Colombia's decertification at the last cabinet meeting on Monday, responded to Rubio's statements, mentioning that he has risked his personal and family life"in the fight against the relations between drug-trafficking paramilitaries and political power."
Petro, through his social networks, also said that he did not calculate that"
political power in the United States would end up in the hands of friends of politicians allied with paramilitarism," but without mentioning Rubio. (You can read:
While awaiting a decision on certification, Colombia reveals seizure figures
).
He points out that I have not been a good partner in the fight, when I risked my personal and family life in the fight against the relations of drug trafficking paramilitaries and political power.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 16, 2025
I did not calculate that political power in the US would end up in the hands of friends of allied politicians... https://t.co/anNHzgueiU
He also added that he will not give in to the pressure that decertification would generate in the country and its possible effects on rural areas, where the illicit drug business has grown stronger in recent years, breaking records for illicit coca crops for later processing into cocaine."I will not bring the nation to its knees and allow it to beat farmers. We are not sepoys, not subjects," the president tweeted, adding that he is 'decertifying' the North American country for failing to reduce the consumption of cocaine and fentanyl in its society. That is the main cause of drug trafficking, the other is prohibition itself.
Unions call for restraint and a cool head
The Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Colombia) was one of the first associations to react to the news of the decertification, stating that the effects of the measure on the objectives of the fight against drugs will be seen in greater demands regarding results. In practice, the decision preserves bilateral cooperation, but increases the demands on goals and verification. The waiver (exemption due to national interest) prevents the main restrictions associated with the designation from coming into force by default and maintains non-humanitarian cooperation during the fiscal year, subject to stricter conditions, reporting, and monitoring. For Colombia, there are no automatic or uniform sanctions: their eventual application is at the discretion of the US president, based on the results that the country demonstrates," said María Claudia Lacouture, president of the association. (You can read: The Impacts of Colombia's decertification in the fight against drugs).
According to the expert, the Government must now work on a new plan that is
real, achievable and verifiable, with which the goals of eradicating illicit crops, reducing production, attacking trafficking networks, legal cooperation and disarming the organizations behind this business can be met.
White House
Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco) , said that the decertification is the result of a lack of commitment on the part of the National Government to the objectives of this fight.
"We need a Government committed to the eradication of coca crops, to strengthening the capabilities of the public forces and to the prohibition of the illegal economy that perverts society", he said.
Bruce Mac Master, president of Andi, stated that, in the midst of what Washington's decision implies, one can highlight the 'waiver' with which economic aid is maintainedto advance a serious and comprehensive strategy against drug trafficking. As well as the limitation of measures, so that the productive, economic and financial apparatus of the country is not affected".
