Britain and Colombia suspend intelligence sharing with the US. The reason is the controversial attacks by the USA on boats off Venezuela.
November 12, 2025, 06:16November 12, 2025, 06:16
Colombia’s decision affects the armed forces’ intelligence service, and other contacts with US security authorities will also be suspended, as President Gustavo Petro explained on Platform X. The measure applies “as long as missile attacks on boats in the Caribbean continue.” The joint fight against drugs must “be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people”.
The USA regularly attacks boats off Venezuela. (symbol image)Image: keystone
The head of state was reacting to US attacks in the Caribbean, in which, according to him, a Colombian fisherman had also been killed. He criticized that the man was killed in an “extrajudicial execution”.
In recent weeks, US forces have repeatedly attacked speedboats belonging to suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific on orders from President Donald Trump. Dozens of people have already been killed. The approach causes a lot of criticism. From the perspective of UN human rights experts, the USA is violating international law.
CNN: Great Britain stops sharing information with USA
According to a report by the US broadcaster CNN, Great Britain has already stopped exchanging certain intelligence information with the USA because of the controversial approach. This involves information about suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean. London did not want to become an accomplice to US attacks, which it considered illegal, the broadcaster reported. The New York Times also reported on this, citing a senior Western government official.
Low point in relations between Bogota and Washington
Petro also referred to the CNN report in his X-Post. Relations between Bogotá and Washington have recently deteriorated massively. The US government accuses Petro of a lack of determination in the fight against the drug cartels and recently imposed sanctions on the president. Many of Colombia’s anti-narcotics successes rely on information from US authorities or the services of other key partners, such as the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the US military is continuing to increase its military force in the waters off Latin America. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was withdrawn from the Mediterranean some time ago by the Pentagon, reached the US Southern Command area of operations, the US Navy announced on Tuesday. The exact location was not disclosed. The area of operation extends across the Caribbean and also across waters bordering Central and South America.
Does the USA actually care about Venezuela’s head of state Maduro?
The USA justifies its military presence with the fight against transnational criminal organizations and the protection of the homeland from drugs. However, due to increasing tensions between the USA and the Caribbean state of Venezuela, there is increasing speculation about the actual reason for the aircraft carrier’s relocation to the region.
Trump’s government accuses Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of being involved in drug smuggling to the United States. Washington wants to have him tried in the USA. Not only does the authoritarian Venezuelan government view the gathering of additional military units in the Caribbean as a threatening gesture, but also neighboring countries such as Colombia and Brazil. (sda/dpa/con)