The United States Embassy in Bogota.
The United States and Colombia have both recalled their ambassadors amid escalating tensions over an alleged plot to topple Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s left-wing government.
On Thursday, the US State Department announced that John McNamara, the charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Bogotá, returned to Washington “following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Colombian government.”
In response, President Petro ordered Colombia’s ambassador to Washington, Daniel García Peña, to return home for consultations. Petro said he wanted to discuss progress on key priorities in the bilateral relationship.
The diplomatic rift comes after Colombian prosecutors opened an investigation into a reported plot to overthrow Petro. The probe was launched following a report by the Spanish newspaper El País, which published recordings implicating former Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva. The recordings suggest Leyva approached US lawmakers, including Florida Congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, seeking international pressure against Petro.
“This is nothing more than a conspiracy involving drug traffickers and the extreme right in Colombia and the United States,” Petro said on Monday.
In late January, the US briefly suspended consular services after Petro refused to allow US military planes to return Colombian refugees and migrants. Petro accused the US of treating these individuals like criminals, restraining them with shackles and handcuffs.
The dispute has included threats of trade tariffs of up to 50 percent from both sides. Additionally, Colombia’s government recently declined a US request to extradite two rebel leaders wanted in Washington for alleged drug trafficking.
Security concerns have also heightened in Colombia, following bombing attacks in the southwestern city of Cali in June that reportedly killed ten people, and an attempted assassination of conservative opposition senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay during a campaign rally in Bogotá.
The diplomatic standoff marks a sharp decline in relations between the two countries, once considered close allies.
