The largest Colombian drug cartel, "Clan del Golfo", announced on the social network "Ex" that it is breaking off ongoing talks in Qatar with the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro due to agreements he signed with his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
On Tuesday, Petro and Trump agreed to focus their military and intelligence operations against three leaders of criminal groups, including Chiquito Malo, head of the "Clan del Golfo" cartel. This move was defined yesterday by the cartel as a "violation of good faith and the commitments made in Doha", which gives the criminal group reason to withdraw "temporarily" from the agreements.
"President Petro has put his personal interests before the common ones, namely before peace in the country", pointed out "Clan del Golfo" in "Ex".
Colombian government representatives confirmed that the profile of the group in "Ex", which published the message, belongs precisely to the cartel of paramilitary origin, which is called "Gitanista Army of Colombia" (named after the former Colombian politician and mayor of Bogota Jorge Eliezer Gaitan, founder of liberal socialism in Colombia, editor's note).
The Colombian government and the "Clan del Golfo" announced in September last year that they were starting negotiations in Qatar with a view to disarming the group in exchange for legal concessions. So far, the two sides had reached several agreements, mainly regarding the de-escalation of the conflict in the northwestern parts of Colombia, which have been devastated by the consequences of the clashes.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said yesterday that Petro and Trump had decided to focus their efforts on Chiquito Malo, boss of the "Clan del Golfo" since 2021, when drug lord and former leader of the Dayro cartel Antonio Usuga David, nicknamed "Otoniel" was extradited to the United States.
The Colombian Defense Ministry also said yesterday that Bogota and Washington would invite Venezuela to join joint actions in the fight against drug trafficking. This became clear after the meeting between Trump and Petro at the White House on Tuesday.
"These are not new goals for Colombia, but they certainly represent a new direction in the joint initiatives between Colombia and the United States," Sanchez told "Radio Caracol".
The minister expressed hope that Caracas could join the initiative, considering that some Colombian drug lords cross the border with Venezuela to hide there.
Colombia and the United States will also make more efforts to search for Ivan Mordisco, leader of a breakaway faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which rejected a peace agreement with the government in 2016, as well as to pursue Pablito, leader of the National Liberation Army, another Colombian guerrilla group.
The new cooperation strategy between the United States and Colombia changes the direction of bilateral relations, which were affected by the numerous verbal clashes between the two heads of state on social networks, AFP notes.