In a new wave of heightened tensions between Bogotá and Washington, US President Donald Trump announced that he will suspend"starting today" any "payments or subsidies" that his country allocates to Colombia.
The measure, which Trump justified by accusing the Colombian government of not doing enough in the fight against drug trafficking, opens a scenario of great uncertainty for the country. The suspension could represent the largest loss of economic assistance from its main commercial and strategic ally.
"(Drug trafficking) has become Colombia's biggest business by far, and (Gustavo) Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the U.S., which are nothing more than a long-term scam. As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment or subsidy, will no longer be made to Colombia," said the Republican leader on his Truth Social account, in which he accused the Colombian head of state of being a"drug trafficking leader," but without providing evidence to support these serious allegations.
How much money does Colombia receive from the United States?
According to official US figures from the ForeignAssistance portal, an entity linked to the State Department , in fiscal year 2023 (the last year for which complete information is available) Washington disbursed a total of 708 million dollars, that is, around 2.7 trillion Colombian pesos at the current exchange rate, which were allocated to a total of 550 activities in the national territory.
That year, the main entity distributing this financial aid was the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the now-closed entity—by Trump's decision—that allocated $396 million in aid to the country. In second place is the State Department, with a disbursement of $290 million.
The main destination sectors for this funding are humanitarian assistance (US$249 million), followed by peace and security programs (US$157 million) and support programs (US$115 million), economic development programs (US$91.5 million), among other sectors.
According to ForeignAssistance, the support was primarily economic, with $661 million (93.30%) allocated to the country; while military support consisted of $47 million (6.70%).
For 2024, the figures for which are partial, $720 million was disbursed. This amount was significantly affected for fiscal year 2025, which, according to ForeignAssistance figures, fell to a total disbursement of $232 million, representing a 67 percent reduction compared to the previous year.
The difference between the amount disbursed and the amount approved by Congress
However, in contrast to this data, the United States Congress, the entity that approves the total amount of economic assistance allocated abroad, has more measured data on the money approved year after year for Colombia.
In that regard, figures from the U.S. legislature show that $453 million was approved for fiscal year 2023; by 2025, this figure was reduced to $413 million, and a $209 million budget is currently being debated for fiscal year 2026, a reduction of half compared to the previous year.
However, this amount has not been approved, as the Senate still needs to vote and then go to conciliation between both chambers. Therefore, the money allocated to the country remains at the 413 approved for fiscal year 2025 until the new amount is finally approved. If this cut is approved, it would represent a severe blow to the support the country receives, especially in sectors not designated for security.
Given this discrepancy between the $708 million reported by ForeignAssistance.gov and the $453 million approved by the U.S. Congress for Colombia in fiscal year 2023, the question arises: Why are these two figures so far apart? This is because both figures measure different things within the same fiscal period.
The Congressional amount corresponds to new funds authorized by law that year (appropriations), while the ForeignAssistance portal reflects the total disbursements actually executed by agencies, which may include resources approved in previous years, interannual reprogrammings, or supplemental funds from other federal agencies beyond the State Department and USAID.
In other words, Congress approves how much can be spent, but ForeignAssistance shows how much was actually spent or obligated—even if some of that money came from previous appropriations—so the actual amount spent may be significantly higher than what was approved that same year.
It's worth remembering that President Donald Trump (who took office on January 20) announced the closure of USAID, one of the main sources of US economic assistance to the country, which was the largest recipient of this aid in the region.
The decision also affected nations around the world, whose programs were severely affected by the aid cuts. In Colombia's case, the impact was even greater, as USAID allocated more than $1.2 billion in resources to the aid and humanitarian assistance programs currently underway in the country in just six years, between 2018 and 2024.
According to EL TIEMPO's Data Unit based on official figures from the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC), as of January 27, assistance from USAID over the last 6 years represents 22 percent of all cooperation money that has entered from the United States.
With the closure of this entity and the cuts to humanitarian assistance programs, described by Trump as a"waste" of money that does not benefit the U.S., the amount Colombia receives has been reduced to assistance in the security and anti-drug sectors.
And these sectors are precisely the ones that are in suspense after Washington decertified the country in the fight against drugs, a decision that nevertheless came accompanied by a waiver, an exceptional measure that allows the continued provision of resources and cooperation, but that would give Trump the legal arguments to justify the mobilization of those funds that are destined for the country to other sectors, or to suspend it completely.
In that sense, Michael Shifter, a professor at Georgetown University and former president of the Inter-American Dialogue, tells this newspaper that, if the cuts to all payments or subsidies that the US allocates to Colombia are implemented, this would represent a severe blow to the fight against drug trafficking.
"They would be a blow to the fight against drug trafficking, since, despite the tensions between Trump and Petro, Colombia remains a key partner for Washington," explains the expert, who nevertheless points out that Trump's decision must first be approved by Congress.
But, Shifter qualifies," so far we have seen no resistance in Congress within the Republican Party on virtually any issue. There is no reason to believe that Colombia will be any different."
