Colombia‘s Suspension from Egmont Group Threatens Anti-Narcotics Efforts, benefitting Drug Traffickers
BOGOTA – The suspension of Colombia from the Egmont Group, a global network for sharing financial intelligence related to money laundering and transnational crime, is creating a security vacuum that experts say will disproportionately benefit drug traffickers. The suspension follows Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s disclosure of confidential details regarding a purchase of Pegasus spyware allegedly made by the previous administration.
The fallout extends beyond the loss of data sharing; Colombia is now at risk of losing crucial U.S. aid that funds a significant portion of its intelligence operations. “The united States loses an ally of 40 years that produces a lot of intelligence, but the consequences for Colombia are really disastrous, because we are going to be left without resources for the fight against narcotics,” warned a vice admiral familiar with the situation.
A former Colombian intelligence official, speaking anonymously, emphasized the country’s reliance on U.S.technology. “North American intelligence agencies have always been leaders in cutting-edge technology,such as satellites or communications interception,much more than in human intelligence,” the official stated. Colombia, lacking the budget and technical capacity to independently develop such technology, has historically depended on U.S. support to track drug movements – by air and sea – and monitor threats from groups like the former FARC guerrilla. “But these technologies become obsolete quickly, so you have to constantly modernize them, and that is only possible if you maintain good synchronization with the United States.”
Cooperation between the two countries grew significantly in the 1990s, enabling Colombia to access vital intelligence as an intermediary nation. However, relations have deteriorated under the administrations of Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro. Trump has accused Petro of being “a member of drug trafficking” and recently decertified Colombia’s efforts in the war on drugs. Petro has responded by ending intelligence cooperation with the U.S.
The breakdown in collaboration means both countries will lose access to accumulated intelligence regarding drug trafficking networks and routes, creating an habitat where criminal organizations are poised to thrive. “The two governments will ultimately lose the information they had been building about the powers and routes of drug trafficking. And in that ignorance, those who win are only the drug traffickers,” the article concludes.