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Colombia's recalled ambassador, Daniel García-Peña, had a "frank and constructive discussion" with America's chargé d'affaires, John McNamara, Bogotá's embassy in Washington has said after days of escalating tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Colombian leader Gustavo Petro. "Both sides agreed to continue dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect," the embassy said. The tone of this statement jars with the very public interactions between Trump and the leftist leader, whom Trump branded a "lunatic" over the weekend as Bogotá became more deeply embroiled in the U.S. administration's campaign against drug trafficking from Latin America. Trump, taking to his Truth Social platform, called Petro an "illegal drug dealer" and accused the Colombian leader of "strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields." Petro had accused Washington of "murder" after the U.S. military struck an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in what Washington said were international waters in mid-September. Petro said the White House had violated Colombian sovereignty and killed a Colombian fisherman, named by the president as Alejandro Carranza. The administration has bolstered U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean and authorized covert CIA operations on land in Venezuela, much to the anxiety of Caracas, and multiple strikes in the past seven weeks have killed at least 32 people, according to official statements. Experts and lawmakers have raised serious concerns over whether the strikes break international law. Much of the White House's attention has homed in on Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro. But the impact has bled into U.S. relations with Colombia, a regionally strong military power with historically close relations with Washington now under the threat of White House tariffs. Colombia is Regional 'Military Powerhouse' "Colombia is without a doubt a military powerhouse in the region," said Carlos Solar, a senior research fellow with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank. Its number of active military personnel comes in second only to Brazil, and its significant defense spending exceeds 3 percent of its GDP, Solar told Newsweek. All of this is supported by a well-oiled defense industry, Solar added. Colombia's military is largely designed around securing the country internally, including how to tackle drug trafficking, according to the U.K.-based think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). "Given its prolonged internal conflict against armed para-state forces it has been able to procure air, land, and sea military systems with a variety of providers including the U.S., Canada, France, and Italy," Solar added. Training in the Colombian armed forces, as well as its overall capabilities, have improved in the last few decades, according to the IISS, which described Bogota as the U.S.'s "closest international military partner." Colombia has long been one of the U.S.'s most important links in Latin America. Bogotá also became one of NATO's "global partners" in 2017. The U.S. is the leading power in the transatlantic alliance. This drew Colombia closer to NATO, but it does not come with the expectations or obligations NATO nations have. Colombia's army is made up of just shy of 200,000 active personnel. It has no tanks, but more than 550 armored vehicles of various types, according to the IISS. The Bogotá-headquartered Navy has four submarines and 58 ships for patrols or operations close to shore, as well as six amphibious landing craft and seven support vessels, plus another 17 vessels operated by the coast guard. The U.S. is a formidable military power with a significant footprint across the world. Colombia's 15,600-person-strong air force operates several different types of aircraft, roughly a third of which are fighter ground-attack aircraft capable of carrying out missions in the air or attacks on land. Bogotá has 20 Israeli-made Kfir multirole combat aircraft, although Colombia is replacing these jets with the Swedish-made Gripens. "Currently, President Gustavo Petro’s diplomacy to both Washington and Tel Aviv are at its lowest," Solar said. "This puts the military in a difficult position as it is time for Colombia to renew its combat aircraft fleet, frigates and submarines." Bogotá may hold off on upgrading its armed forces until a new government comes to power next year with the potential to reset Colombia's diplomatic relations, Solar said. The U.S. military's ties to Colombia's armed forces go back a quarter century to Plan Colombia, the program of aid—including military assistance—the U.S. agreed with Colombia at the turn of the century, said Solar. Trump on Sunday said he would stop all U.S. aid to Colombia over Petro's remarks that accused the U.S. of "murder." U.S. is World's 'Most Capable Military Power' The U.S. military has an enormous global footprint, sporting a network of bases, providing expensive capabilities for other countries like strategic lift- and space-based assets, and leveraging its extensive nuclear arsenal to fend off attacks on its allies. The U.S. and Russia together have around 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, whereas Colombia is not a nuclear state. As the world's "most capable military power," it has a "unique" ability to make its presence felt across the world, the IISS said. The U.S. has more than 1.3 million active personnel as of early 2025, nearly 447,000 of which belonged to the U.S. Army, according to the think tank's figures. Another 797,200 were registered as part of the reserves. The U.S. Navy has 65 submarines of various types, including 14 Ohio-class subs armed with up to 20 nuclear-armed Trident II missiles. Above the surface, the navy has 122 surface combatants, which include 11 aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers and 74 destroyers. The U.S. Air Force also operates cutting-edge aircraft, like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, with next-generation aircraft in development. "If the U.S.-Colombia security alliance is no longer happening, the spillover will create uncertainty not only for the interdiction of drugs but for the survival of military-to-military relations which for decades had been untouched by the furore of daily politics," Solar said.
