COLOMBIA SUSPENDS INTELLIGENCE COOPERATION WITH US FOLLOWING BOAT ATTACKS. (PHOTO).

 Colombia suspends intelligence cooperation with US following boat attacks

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has directed the country’s security agencies to halt intelligence sharing with the United States in response to ongoing U.S. attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Petro announced the order on X, stating, “All levels of intelligence within the public security forces are to suspend communications and other dealings with U.S. security agencies. This measure will remain in effect as long as the missile attacks on boats in the Caribbean continue.” Since Sept. 2, at least 75 people have died in 19 U.S. military strikes targeting boats alleged to be carrying narcotics for cartels designated as terrorist organizations by Washington.

The strikes have sparked domestic and international criticism, with allegations of potential war crimes and extrajudicial killings. Petro specifically condemned one attack that killed a fisherman, Alejandro Carranza, calling it murder. The Trump administration maintains the operations are necessary to stop drugs from entering the United States, with President Donald Trump asserting last month that congressional approval is unnecessary, saying, “I think we are just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country.”

Petro’s announcement follows his recall of Colombia’s ambassador to Washington after a White House photo surfaced showing Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair holding a folder with images of Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in prison jumpsuits. Relations between the two allies have been increasingly tense under the Trump administration, with Petro criticizing U.S. drug and immigration policies, while Trump has accused Colombia of insufficient action against drug cartels.

The Colombian president rejected U.S. allegations that his government tolerates cartel activity, emphasizing that drug production is falling under his leadership. He added, “The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.”