United States and Colombia Recall Ambassadors Amid Deteriorating Relations

(Patria) - The United States and Colombia have recalled their envoys home, an apparent acceleration of deteriorating relations, in the context of an alleged conspiracy against a Colombian leftist leader.

Washington moved first, recalling its charge d'affaires John McNamara "following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Colombian Government," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, without providing details, AFP reported.

In addition to McNamara's recall, Bruce said the United States is "taking other measures to clearly demonstrate our deep concern about the current state of our bilateral relations."

Within hours, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that he would, in response, recall his top diplomat in Washington.

"Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena must come to inform us about the development of the bilateral agenda," Petro wrote on social network X, such as using "South America's great potential for clean energy" and fighting "drug lords and their international finances."

The diplomatic dispute followed the resignation of Colombia's foreign minister earlier on Thursday, the latest high-ranking official to leave Petro's government.

"Decisions have been made in recent days that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support," Laura Sarabia, Petro's former chief of staff, wrote on X.

Conspiracy Investigation

Colombia has until recently been one of the United States' closest partners in Latin America. But ties have soured rapidly.

Colombian prosecutors this week opened an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to overthrow Petro with the help of Colombian and American politicians, after the Spanish newspaper El Pais published recordings implicating former foreign minister Alvaro Leyva.

"This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and, obviously, the Colombian and American far-right," Petro said on Monday.

In late January, the US briefly suspended consular services in retaliation for Petro's refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian migrants to their homeland.

Petro accused the US of treating migrants like criminals, chaining and handcuffing them. A diplomatic agreement involving the deployment of Colombian Air Force planes to transport migrants averted a threatened trade war at the last minute.

Trump and Petro had threatened each other with trade tariffs of up to fifty percent on imports. The Colombian government also recently rejected a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders wanted by Washington for drug trafficking.