Colombia seals $4.3bn deal to buy Swedish warplanes as rift with US deepens

Colombia has confirmed it will purchase Swedish warplanes in a $4.3 billion agreement with Saab, President Gustavo Petro announced as tensions with the United States persist. Although the government stated in April that it intended to buy Saab fighter aircraft, it had not disclosed the quantity or cost. Petro confirmed at a military base on Friday that the country will acquire 17 Gripen jets.

Petro said the new aircraft would help deter any “aggression against Colombia, wherever it may come from”, adding that in an increasingly turbulent geopolitical environment, threats could emerge from any direction.

Regional unease and strained US–Colombia ties

Colombia, along with much of Latin America, remains on alert due to a US military campaign targeting alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has exchanged accusations with US President Donald Trump and has claimed that the US deployment seeks to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves and destabilise the region. Trump has labelled Petro “an illegal drug leader”, citing Colombia’s high cocaine production, withdrawn US financial aid and removing Colombia from Washington’s list of partners in counter-narcotics efforts.

The Republican leader has, without providing evidence, accused Petro of being involved in drug trafficking and hit the Colombian leader and his family with financial sanctions.

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US and French manufacturers had also competed to supply warplanes to Colombia, but Bogotá ultimately selected Saab. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who maintains close ties with Petro, has alleged that the US military presence in the region aims to remove him from power.

(With agency inputs)