US Decertifies Colombia on Counternarcotics, Grants Aid Waiver

The United States on Monday added Colombia to a list of countries that have failed to cooperate in the international fight against drugs, a move Washington said reflected a decade-long surge in coca cultivation and a slowdown in eradication under President Gustavo Petro. The White House simultaneously issued a waiver to avoid immediate cuts to major U.S. aid, but officials and analysts warned the designation is a sharp diplomatic rebuke that could complicate security and counternarcotics cooperation.

In a presidential determination, the U.S. said Colombia had not met its obligations under international counternarcotics agreements during the past year and placed responsibility squarely on political leadership. "The failure of Colombia to meet its drug control obligations over the past year rests solely with its political leadership," President Trump wrote, adding that the designation could be reversed if Bogota takes "more aggressive action to eradicate coca and reduce cocaine production and trafficking" and improves cooperation with U.S. law enforcement.

Colombian officials pushed back. President Petro, speaking at a televised cabinet meeting, said the decision punished a...