The Gustavo Petro administration was unable to advance diplomatic efforts with the United States to avoid decertification, nor to propose returning to aerial spraying of illicit crops (banned by the Constitutional Court in 2015), nor to hold meetings with delegates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Despite the last-minute efforts made by the Petro administration before the White House, the country ended up decertified in the fight against drug trafficking and was almost at the same level as nations such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma and Venezuela, which were also subject to this measure.
In Colombia, something has changed: for the first time in almost three decades, the country has been decertified again, just as happened in 1996 during the administration of Ernesto Samper, when the United States gave that government a bad grade after the Proceso 8,000 scandal that linked the then president with drug trafficking money in the presidential campaign.
The United States' decision could affect all sectors of the country and will leave repercussions that will last until 2026, when a new president has already been elected to lead the Colombian state.
Samper, the only former president who has had to deal with a diplomatic issue of this type, came to Petro's defense by stating that “Colombia has already gone through a decertification and I can assure you that it is not the end of the world. On the contrary, it offers us the opportunity to once again demonstrate internationally the high economic, social and institutional costs that we have paid for a problem that is not only ours.”
The decertification of Colombia had been the main political topic in recent days. It had become a mandatory topic of conversation in the corridors of the Presidency of the Republic, the Foreign Ministry, and even among those who have held state positions and remain connected to officials of the US administration. However, it was necessary to know the scope of the measures the White House would implement with this decision.
"Thanks to the United States' distinction between Colombia's historical tradition in the fight against drug trafficking and the Petro administration, sanctions that affect support and cooperation for institutions will not be applied," former President Iván Duque acknowledged.
The lines outlined by the State Department in the report published Monday night are clear: cocaine cultivation and production reached record levels, the president's attempts to reach peace agreements with outlaw groups (which the United States classifies as terrorists) exacerbated this scenario, and eradication goals have not been met.
Decertification wasn't a strange scenario. Almost no one's accounts had passed this annual exam with flying colors. As former ambassador Kevin Whitaker had said in an interview with SEMANA,"results are results."
The official figures are those presented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which documented in its most recent report how the number of hectares planted and production within these hectares increased. According to that report, Colombia currently accounts for 67% of the world's coca leaf production.
This was the moment Petro learned of the U.S. report that decertifies Colombia:"The one who needs to be decertified is the United States government," he responded. https://t.co/if1kX8qDUN
— Semana Magazine (@RevistaSemana) September 16, 2025
Daniel Mejía, an expert on the subject and former chair of the Drug Policy Advisory Commission, had shared the discouraging figures for this fight. For example, the manual eradication program was reduced by 93%, while illicit crops are now at over 253,000 hectares, the highest record the country has ever seen, as noted in the State Department statement.
Regarding illicit crop interdictions, which is the government's figure, Mejía explained that while these have increased, when the seizure rate is factored in, it has dropped from 43% to 28%. This means that, in the end, even if more cocaine is intercepted, more of this substance is reaching the United States today.
Former minister and presidential candidate Mauricio Lizcano, who was part of Petro's cabinet, stated that the decision"is more political, against the government, than the consequences our country will have in having the resources to continue fighting drug trafficking."
Several members of Congress from opposition and independent parties had approached White House officials and Democratic and Republican legislators to express that the president's stance on the fight against drug trafficking did not represent the views held on the issue by other institutions or the public.
Furthermore, mayors Federico Gutiérrez and Alejandro Eder embarked on a two-day tour of Washington, where they held meetings with officials to deliver a similar message. This visit sparked the fury of the national government, which rebuffed them in their attempt at city diplomacy. What is clear is that the State Department report reveals that Gutiérrez and Eder's messages were indeed heard by the Americans.
“I have designated Colombia for its manifest failure to meet its drug control obligations. Colombia’s security institutions and municipal authorities continue to demonstrate skill and courage in confronting terrorist and criminal groups, and the United States values the service and sacrifice of its dedicated public servants at all levels of government. Colombia’s failure to meet its drug control obligations over the past year is solely due to its political leadership,” the State Department said.
You're starting with a factual lie, gentlemen at the US Embassy. Coca crop growth is occurring during Duque's administration, and with forced fumigation. It's US policy that has failed.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 16, 2025
For coca leaf cultivation to decrease, what's needed is not... https://t.co/qwA499APT0
In a statement, the Colombian-American Chamber explained the impact for the country of the State Department's decision to accompany the decertification with a waiver that"avoids the immediate application of assistance restrictions and opens a conditional waiting period of up to 12 months to show verifiable results. In practice, the decision preserves bilateral cooperation, but raises the bar on goals and verification."
"The waiver prevents the main restrictions associated with the designation from taking effect by default and maintains non-humanitarian cooperation during the fiscal year, subject to stricter conditions, reporting, and monitoring. In the case of Colombia, there are no automatic or uniform sanctions: their eventual application is at the discretion of the US president, based on the country's results," he added.
The decertification is the most important news for the country's international politics this year. The announcement comes as Petro has engaged in diplomatic clashes with the White House, defended Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship in Venezuela, which is sanctioned by Washington, and as the head of state strengthens his ties with China and the BRICS. Recovering the certification will require diplomacy, crop eradication, and verifiable results in this fight, and above all, political will from the Casa de Nariño government.
