Total Peace vs. Total War – Why the U.S. Decertified Colombia as a Drug Partner

President Petro has negotiated and sought ceasefires with drug trafficking gangs, including the ELN and Gulf Clan. That is utterly at odds with President Trump's hardline stance.

President Donald Trump is cross. This week, his administration decertified Colombia as an ally in the war on drugs, the first such rebuke in nearly thirty years. The State Department stated that Colombia had “failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to…adhere to…obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements.”

While drug production and related violence are certainly on the rise in Colombia, it is still jarring to see the country lumped in with Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar, and Venezuela. Unlike Venezuela, accused of state complicity, or Bolivia, which expelled the DEA years ago, Colombia has been Washington’s showcase ally in Latin America.

This decision is not surprising, however.

The two countries could not be more opposed in their counter-trafficking approach. Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s has pushed for “Total Peace,” a strategy emphasizing negotiations and social investments to end Colombia’s conflict and coca economy. This is utterly at odds with the American decision to start blowing alleged drug boats out of the water.

So let’s break down this decision and what it likely means for the War on Drugs.