Colombia has halted arms purchases from the United States, its biggest military partner, over Washington’s claim that the South American country is failing to halt cocaine trafficking. Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti announced the move on Tuesday, as President Gustavo Petro accused the US of seeking to “participate” in the country’s domestic politics and looking for a “puppet president” ahead of elections next year. The Trump Administration on Monday decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drugs, accusing the country of allowing cocaine production to surge to “all-time records”. Though seen as a largely symbolic move, it marked another blow to Washington’s alliance with Bogota after the sides clashed earlier this year over the deportation of undocumented migrants to the Latin American country.
