Washington removed Venezuela from the list of countries failing to meet drug-control obligations, citing cooperation under interim President Delcy Rodríguez since US forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January. President Donald Trump said Venezuela should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably to fulfill its drug control commitments. Colombia remains designated as having failed to meet its commitments for now, but Trump blamed former President Gustavo Petro for record cocaine production and praised the new government led by President Abelardo De la Espriella, which took office in August.

Trump said he would consider lifting Colombia’s status next year if it makes progress against coca cultivation and cocaine production. He expects Venezuela to make further progress in dismantling narcoterrorist groups and stopping drug trafficking to the US. Colombia is now poised to resume its role as Washington’s foremost security partner in the hemisphere.

Colombia’s ambassador to the US, María Consuelo Araújo, said the country will implement a strategy to eradicate illicit crops using all available legal methods, targeting the entire drug-trafficking chain. Colombia’s Constitutional Court has imposed strict conditions on aerial glyphosate spraying due to health and environmental risks, and De la Espriella’s administration has moved toward testing alternative herbicides, though a planned pilot using glufosinate ammonium faced a legal suspension.