Colombian President Petro Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Over Caribbean Missile Strikes

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the country’s public security forces to suspend all intelligence sharing with US agencies following recent American missile strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

In a statement posted Tuesday on the social media platform X, Petro said the suspension will remain in place “as long as missile attacks on boats in the Caribbean continue.” He emphasized that “the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people,” underscoring his long-standing criticism of militarized anti-narcotics operations.

Petro’s move followed a CNN investigation revealing that the United Kingdom had already halted intelligence sharing with the United States amid fears that British data was being used to conduct lethal strikes on suspected drug traffickers. The report noted that these attacks, which have killed at least 76 people since September, may constitute violations of international law. Meanwhile, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk condemned the strikes as “unacceptable” and called for an independent investigation into what his office described as extrajudicial killings.