BOGOTA, Colombia(National times)- Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his nation\u2019s security forces Tuesday to stop sharing intelligence with the United States, until the Trump administration stops its strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as relations deteriorate between the nations that were once close partners in the fight against drug trafficking. In a message on X, Petro wrote that Colombia\u2019s military must immediately end \u201ccommunications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies\u201d until the U.S. ceases its attacks on speedboats suspected of carrying drugs, that critics have likened to extrajudicial executions. Petro wrote that \u201cthe fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.\u201d It wasn\u2019t immediately clear what kind of information Colombia will stop sharing with the United States. The White House had no immediate response to Petro\u2019s latest statements. At least 75 people have been killed by the U.S. military in strikes in international waters since August, according to figures supplied by the Trump administration. The strikes began in the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela\u2019s shores, but have shifted recently to the eastern Pacific, where the U.S. has targeted boats off Mexico. Petro has called for U.S. President Donald Trump to be investigated for war crimes over the strikes, which have affected citizens of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. The leftist leader has long been a critic of U.S. drug policy, and has accused the Trump administration of going after peasants growing coca, the base ingredient of cocaine, instead of targeting major drug traffickers and money launderers. On Sunday, Petro said that met with the family of a Colombian fisherman who was allegedly killed in one of the strikes. \u201cHe may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine, but he had not been sentenced to death\u201d Petro said during a summit between Latin American and European Union leaders hosted by Colombia on Sunday. \u201cThere was no need to murder him.\u201d The Trump administration has accused Petro of being soft on traffickers, and has criticized the Colombian president\u2019s decision to spare Colombian rebel leaders involved in the drug trade form extradition to the United States. In October, the administration placed financial sanctions on Petro and members of his family, over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade. Petro \u201chas allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,\u201d Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement after the sanctions were issued Oct 24. \u201cPresident Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.\u201d The heightened tensions between the United States and Colombia are taking place as the U.S. ramps up its naval presence in the southern Caribbean, with eight warships, a submarine, fighter jets and marines deployed to the region. An aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, is also expected to arrive in the Caribbean this month. enezuela\u2019s government has described the naval buildup as a threat to its sovereignty, with officials in that nation saying that the U.S. military is preparing to launch strikes against the embattled government of Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has said its deployment is aimed at curbing drug traffickers, though Trump has also hinted there could be strikes on target within Venezuela, whose leader has been described by officials in Washington as the head of a drug cartel. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino L\u00f3pez announced Tuesday that military personnel, members of a civilian militia, police officers and ruling-party organizers would be mobilized for a training exercise to protect the country\u2019s airspace. He delivered his remarks, broadcast on state television, standing by a surface-to-air missile system in a military base in the capital, Caracas, but no training activities could be seen elsewhere in the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BOGOTA, Colombia(National times)- Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his nation\u2019s security forces Tuesday to stop sharing intelligence with the United States, until the Trump administration stops its strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as relations deteriorate between the nations that were once close partners in the fight against drug trafficking. In a message […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n