US labels Colombian drug cartel as terrorist

TT

Published 23.12

 

Police on the hunt for drug smugglers in Colombia. Archive photo. Photo: Fernando Vergara/AP/TT

The US has designated the Colombian drug cartel Clan del Golfo as a terrorist.

According to the US State Department, the cartel is “responsible for terrorist attacks against public servants, police and military personnel, and civilians in Colombia”.

Clan del Golfo is called “a violent and powerful criminal organization” that smuggles cocaine to finance its violent acts and has therefore been placed on the US list of terrorist organizations.

The decision is another step in the US conflict with Colombia. In September, President Donald Trump removed the country from the list of allies in the fight against drugs, which could cost Colombia billions in withdrawn military aid from the US.

And in October, Trump announced that all aid to Colombia would be cut off and called President Gustavo Petro a “drug lord.”

In November, the United States designated the Cartel de los Soles in Venezuela as a drug cartel and labeled the cartel a “foreign terrorist organization.”