Colombia to droop intelligence co-operation with US

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BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his nation’s safety forces Tuesday to cease sharing intelligence with the United States, till the Trump administration stops its strikes on suspected drug traffickers within the Caribbean, as relations deteriorate between the nations that have been as soon as shut companions within the struggle in opposition to drug trafficking.

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In a message on X, Petro wrote that Colombia’s army should instantly finish “communications and different agreements with U.S. safety companies” till the U.S. ceases its assaults on speedboats suspected of carrying medication, that critics have likened to extrajudicial executions.

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Petro wrote that “the struggle in opposition to medication have to be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean folks.” It wasn’t instantly clear what sort of data Colombia will cease sharing with the United States. The White House had no rapid response to Petro’s newest statements.

At least 75 folks have been killed by the U.S. army in strikes in worldwide waters since August, in response to figures provided by the Trump administration. The strikes started within the southern Caribbean, close to Venezuela’s shores, however have shifted lately to the jap Pacific, the place the U.S. has focused boats off Mexico.

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Petro has referred to as for U.S. President Donald Trump to be investigated for warfare crimes over the strikes, which have affected residents of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The leftist chief has lengthy been a critic of U.S. drug coverage, and has accused the Trump administration of going after peasants rising coca, the bottom ingredient of cocaine, as a substitute of focusing on main drug traffickers and cash launderers. On Sunday, Petro stated that met with the household of a Colombian fisherman who was allegedly killed in one of many strikes.

“He might have been carrying fish, or he might have been carrying cocaine, however he had not been sentenced to demise” Petro stated throughout a summit between Latin American and European Union leaders hosted by Colombia on Sunday. “There was no have to homicide him.”

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The Trump administration has accused Petro of being tender on traffickers, and has criticized the Colombian president’s determination to spare Colombian insurgent leaders concerned within the drug commerce type extradition to the United States.

In October, the administration positioned monetary sanctions on Petro and members of his household, over accusations of involvement within the international drug commerce.

Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to cease this exercise,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a press release after the sanctions have been issued Oct 24. “President Trump is taking sturdy motion to guard our nation and clarify that we’ll not tolerate the trafficking of medicine into our nation.”

The heightened tensions between the United States and Colombia are happening because the U.S. ramps up its naval presence within the southern Caribbean, with eight warships, a submarine, fighter jets and marines deployed to the area. An plane service, the USS Gerald Ford, can be anticipated to reach within the Caribbean this month.

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Venezuela’s authorities has described the naval buildup as a menace to its sovereignty, with officers in that nation saying that the U.S. army is making ready to launch strikes in opposition to the embattled authorities of Nicolas Maduro.

The Trump administration has stated its deployment is aimed toward curbing drug traffickers, although Trump has additionally hinted there may very well be strikes on the right track inside Venezuela, whose chief has been described by officers in Washington as the pinnacle of a drug cartel.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez introduced Tuesday that army personnel, members of a civilian militia, cops and ruling-party organizers could be mobilized for a coaching train to guard the nation’s airspace. He delivered his remarks, broadcast on state tv, standing by a surface-to-air missile system in a army base within the capital, Caracas, however no coaching actions may very well be seen elsewhere within the metropolis.

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