Trump cuts Colombia aid and imposes sanctions over deportation standoff and drug policy dispute

Trump announced on Oct. 19, 2025, that the United States would end all aid to Colombia. He posted on social media: 'AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.' Trump called GPGustavo Petro 'an illegal drug leader' who is 'low rated and very unpopular.' He warned Petro to 'close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely.'

The U.S. provided between $100 million and $200 million in assistance to Colombia in fiscal year 2025 according to Foreign Policy estimates. This marks a sharp drop from approximately $400 million in fiscal year 2024. Congress appropriated slightly less than $400 million for both fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The Trump administration slashed USAID funding across all countries earlier in 2025.

Trump told reporters on Oct. 19 that he would impose tariffs on Colombia as punishment for drug trade and would announce the rate by Oct. 21. He called Colombia 'a drug manufacturing machine' with 'a lunatic' for a president. Tariff authority remains legally uncertain—Trump may invoke national emergency powers similar to his earlier failed global tariffs that courts struck down.

The conflict erupted over U.S. military strikes on vessels in Caribbean waters. Petro accused the U.S. of killing Alejandro Carranza, a Colombian fisherman, in a Sep. 16 strike. Petro said Carranza had no ties to drug trafficking and his boat was malfunctioning when hit. Petro wrote: 'The United States has invaded our national territory, fired a missile to kill a humble fisherman.'

Defense Secretary PHPete Hegseth announced on Oct. 18 a U.S. strike on a vessel allegedly carrying 'substantial amounts of narcotics' associated with the National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian rebel group in conflict with Petro's government. Hegseth provided no evidence but shared video of a boat engulfed in flames. The ELN denies any role in drug trafficking and offered to submit to international scrutiny.

Petro rejected Trump's accusations and defended his drug policy. He wrote: 'Trying to promote peace in Colombia is not being a drug trafficker.' Petro described himself as 'the main enemy' of drugs in Colombia and said his government achieved record cocaine seizures. He claimed Trump was being deceived by advisers. Petro stated his 'Total Peace' policy prioritizes crop switching with coca growers over repression.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime reported coca cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares (625,000 acres) in 2023. This represents a tripling over one decade—roughly three times the size of 🗽New York City. Colombia is the source of approximately 97 percent of all cocaine in the United States and the world's largest cocaine exporter.

On Oct. 24, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Petro, his wife Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia, his son Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, and Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti over drug trade accusations. In Sep., Trump administration decertified Colombia as a narcotics partner, relegating it to Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan, and Myanmar's category. The State Department revoked Petro's U.S. visa when he attended the U.N. General Assembly.

Colombia depends on U.S. assistance for post-2016 FARC peace-accord programs including coca substitution and rural development. Aid cuts risk derailing the peace process and reigniting violence in marginalized communities. Tariffs hit key export sectors—coffee and cut flowers—supporting over 540,000 smallholder producer families, threatening livelihoods and likely raising U.S. consumer prices during peak seasons.