Medellín, Colombia – President Gustavo Petro spoke out against Colombia’s exclusion from Trump’s ‘Shield of the Americas’ alliance on Monday, citing his country’s vital experience in fighting drug trafficking organizations.
Petro’s criticism comes after Trump announced on Saturday a coalition of 17 Latin American and Caribbean nations that will use “lethal force” against the “terrorist networks” of drug traffickers across the region.
The first summit of the ‘Shield of Americas’, held at Trump’s Miami golf club, invited delegates from predominantly right-wing and center-right governments, including key White House allies like Argentina, Ecuador, and El Salvador.
“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said on Saturday following the meeting.
But on Monday, speaking at a United Nations narcotics summit in Vienna, Petro defended his country’s record of confiscating cocaine and suggested Trump’s alliance would be weaker without his nation’s participation.
“Colombia has the most sophisticated intelligence capabilities to seize goods… without killing anyone,” he said.
While recognising that such political alliances are a matter of “free political understanding,” the president also maintained that “with 17 small, weak countries lacking experience in dealing with cocaine, you cannot make a southern shield; it will be punctured.”
He highlighted Colombia’s existing alliances with 75 nations and the record 3300 tonnes of cocaine that have been seized under his government.
Petro also celebrated Colombia’s strategy of crop substitution programmes which he called a “true revolution in how to address coca leaf production”. The programme, which aims to help farmers replace coca leaf production with legal, sustainable crops, has converted 42,000 hectares of farmland, according to Petro.
Mexican President Claudia Shaienbaum was also absent, despite Trump stressing, “the epicentre of cartel violence is Mexico.”
The summit came a week after the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference, which similarly excluded Petro and Sheinbaum.
Dr Christopher Sabantini, researcher at Chatham House, criticized the shield of the Americas: “[it is] misguided to believe that a summit of only like-minded leaders can establish a meaningful basis for long-term shared principles and cooperation.” He added that the absence of Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil was a “fundamental flaw”.
At Saturday’s summit, Trump also warned of the prospect of action against Cuba, saying that the island state was in its “last moments.”
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” the president said.
Feature image: Petro speaking at the UN meeting in Vienna.
Image credit: @petrogustavo via X.
