Colombia to continue work with US on drug trafficking, government says
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Colombia Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said that Colombia’s anti-drug operations would target drug laboratories, criminal organisations and their camps..
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BOGOTA - Colombia will continue to work with the United States to fight drug trafficking using Washington’s intelligence and technology, the South American nation said on Jan 5.
“The government of Colombia has let the US government know… that we are going to keep coordinating and cooperating in the fight against drug trafficking,” Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said in a video with Justice Minister Andres Idarraga sent to journalists by the government.
US President Donald Trump on Jan 4 called his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro “sick” and said a US military operation in the country was possible.
Over the weekend, US troops entered Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro,
Mr Benedetti said that Colombia’s anti-drug operations would target drug laboratories, criminal organisations and their camps.
“We will continue to emphasise the fight against this scourge, particularly on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” Mr Idarraga said.
Colombia has criticised Mr Trump’s comments towards it and said any potential US incursion would be “undue interference”.
Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said there was a “golden opportunity” to strengthen international collaboration against drug trafficking.
The US is pressuring Colombia to ramp up its fight against drug trafficking as cultivation of the coca leaf, the raw material used to make cocaine, has jumped in recent years.
Mr Petro’s government maintains that it has seized unprecedented levels of cocaine, including nearly 1,000 metric tonnes in 2025. REUTERS
