Colombia seizes 3.4 tonnes of cocaine as US expands in Latin America

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Social media
Today 21:00

Colombia's seizure of cocaine in Guajira refutes US claims that nothing is done in the region to combat narcotics.

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Colombia's President Gustavo Petro looks on prior to a plenary session at the COP30 UN Climate Summit, in Belem, Brazil, Thursday, November 6, 2025 (AP)

Colombian President Gutavo Petro announced on Saturday in an official social media post that Bogata's national police force managed to seize 3.4 tonnes of cocaine set for export.

"My government, in command of the National Police, has managed to seize 3.4 tonnes of cocaine in an underground warehouse in Uribía, Guajira, ready to be sent to Central and North America," Petro's post read.

He added that the operation was carried out without fatalities, adding that the narcotics belonged to the National Liberation Army (ELN) and originated from the Catatumbo region in the northeast.

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3,4 toneladas de Cocaína incautada.

Mi gobierno al mando de la Policía Nacional ha logrado incautar, en una bodega subterránea, 3,4 toneladas de Cocaína en Uribía, Guajira, lista para enviar a centroamérica y norteamérica.

La operación se… pic.twitter.com/jLIOKqmcsM
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) November 15, 2025

US expands war on drugs

Petro's announcement comes against the backdrop of the US' announcement of Operation Southern Spear, a new military campaign in Latin America under the pretext of the Trump administration's "war on drugs."

Under the directive of US President #DonaldTrump, US Secretary #PeteHegseth announced a new operation in Latin America: Operation Southern Spear.

While the #US framed the operation in one way, social media users exposed it in another, and that is how #Washington's narrative… pic.twitter.com/GAwfiE73M6
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 14, 2025

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed that the operation was launched under the premise that it would "secure our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people."

This is as the US expands its naval, air, and ground campaign across the Caribbean, with US officials claiming that these operations are aimed at "strengthening counter-narcotics and counterterrorism capabilities."

President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering.

Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.

Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 13, 2025

The announcement coincides with a series of US airstrikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea, which have killed at least 76 people and destroyed 20 vessels since September 2.

US imposes sanctions on Colombian President, Petro responds

On October 24, the United States imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his son Nicolas Petro, First Lady Veronica Alcocer, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, according to a statement from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The move comes under Washington’s latest counter-narcotics designations, which target individuals it claims are linked to illicit financial activities.

In its announcement, OFAC confirmed that the four figures were added to the agency’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, which effectively freezes any US-based assets and prohibits American citizens and entities from engaging in transactions with them.

"The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List: ALCOCER GARCIA, Veronica del Socorro ... BENEDETTI VILLANEDA, Armando Alberto ... PETRO BURGOS, Nicolas Fernando ... PETRO URREGO, Gustavo Francisco," the statement read.

The Treasury Department said the action is part of a broader US strategy to combat narcotics trafficking networks across Latin America. The US sanctions on Gustavo Petro mark one of the most significant escalations in Washington’s policy toward Colombia since Petro’s election.

Petro responds

At the time, Petro responded, posting on X: "Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat was carried out; my wife, my children, and I have been added to the OFAC list."

He added: "My defense attorney will be Dan Kovalik from the United States...Fighting drug trafficking for decades, and effectively so, has brought upon me this measure from the government of the very society we helped so much to stop their cocaine consumption."

This comes after Petro affirmed that he will stand against the slander directed at him by senior US officials on American soil, stressing that he will "take legal action to defend himself against these allegations."