Colombia, which has a new pro-US president, could be removed in the future, Trump says

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US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday (local time). [AFP]
US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday (local time). [AFP]

US President Donald Trump has removed Venezuela from the annual list of countries that have "failed demonstrably" to meet their drug-control obligations — the first time the country has been off the list in more than 20 years.

According to Reuters and EFE, Trump said the Venezuelan government led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez has taken cooperative steps in combating drug cartels, and on that basis decided to remove the country from the designation.

Trump formally notified Congress on Wednesday of his "Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2027."

In the determination, the White House designated Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Colombia as countries that have "failed demonstrably" to make substantial efforts to meet their international counternarcotics obligations over the past 12 months. Venezuela, which had been on last year's list, was removed.

Venezuela had been designated a country that "failed demonstrably" on drug control every year since 2005, making this the first removal in more than two decades.

Rodriguez became interim president in early January after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was arrested in a US military operation and transferred to the United States.

Rodriguez has taken a more cooperative stance toward Washington than Maduro, and the Trump administration and the Rodriguez government recently concluded a large-scale development agreement covering Venezuelan oil fields.

Colombia remained on the "failed demonstrably" list alongside Afghanistan, Bolivia and Myanmar, as it was last year.

However, Trump said that with Abelardo de la Espriella taking office as Colombia's president in August, the country is set to "reclaim its place as our most important security partner in the hemisphere." He added that he would consider removing Colombia from the list if the new government achieves meaningful results in eradicating coca cultivation and dismantling narco-terrorist networks.

De la Espriella, known as a far-right populist, has championed a pro-US and pro-Israel policy line and received Trump's public endorsement during the election campaign.

Trump had clashed repeatedly with left-leaning former Colombian President Gustavo Petro before adding Colombia to the "failed demonstrably" list in September last year.

Both Venezuela and Colombia remain on the separate US government list of "major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries."

This year's list also includes Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Myanmar, China, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama and Peru.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com