Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the country’s military and security forces to suspend all communications and intelligence sharing with U.S. security agencies until Washington halts its recent attacks on speedboats suspected of carrying narcotics. The move marks a sharp deterioration in relations between two nations that were once close allies in the fight against drug trafficking.

In a statement posted on X, Petro instructed Colombia’s armed forces to “end communications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies,” condemning what he described as unlawful strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific. “The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people,” he said.

According to figures released by the Trump administration, at least 75 people have been killed in U.S. military operations targeting suspected drug traffickers in international waters since August. The strikes began in the southern Caribbean near Venezuela and have since expanded to the eastern Pacific, with boats off the coasts of Mexico and Central America among those targeted.

Petro has accused the U.S. of committing human rights violations, claiming that civilians from Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Trinidad and Tobago were among those killed. He has also called for former U.S. President Donald Trump to face investigation for war crimes over the strikes.

“The man may have been carrying fish, or he may have been carrying cocaine, but he had not been sentenced to death,” Petro said during a summit between Latin American and European Union leaders in Bogotá. The Colombian president said he recently met with the family of a fisherman allegedly killed in one of the operations.

Petro, a long-time critic of U.S. anti-narcotics policy, has argued that Washington’s strategy punishes impoverished farmers who grow coca—the raw ingredient of cocaine—rather than targeting major traffickers or money-laundering networks. His administration has sought to shift focus toward rural development and crop substitution programs instead of aerial eradication or militarized crackdowns.

Relations between Bogotá and Washington have soured in recent months. In October, the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on Petro and several members of his family, accusing them of facilitating the drug trade. “President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the time.

The diplomatic standoff comes as the United States increases its naval presence in the southern Caribbean, deploying warships, fighter jets, and marines to the region. While U.S. officials insist the buildup is aimed at disrupting drug routes, Venezuela has denounced the deployment as a threat to its sovereignty.

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced Tuesday that troops, police, and civilian militias would be mobilised for training exercises to defend the nation’s airspace, underscoring the growing regional unease over Washington’s military operations.