Colombian spy chief claims intelligence-sharing with CIA continues despite dispute

IN A RARE MEDIA interview, the chief of Colombia’s National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) has said that his agency’s collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other American spy organizations continues unabated. This statement appears to contradict a prior statement by the president of Colombia, who said his country had stopped all intelligence-sharing with the United States in protest against the lethal targeting of civilian vessels in the Caribbean.

The political dispute between the two countries made headlines on November 11, when Colombian President Gustavo Petro (pictured) ordered his government’s intelligence agencies to “suspend intelligence sharing with US intelligence agencies”. The leftist leader made the announcement in response to the targeting of Colombian boats that Washington accuses of involvement in narcotics smuggling in the Caribbean. Two weeks earlier, the White House had personally accused Petro of participating in illicit drug trade activities and imposed sanctions on him and his immediate family.

Two days after the dramatic breakdown in intelligence cooperation between Colombia and the United States, Colombian officials claimed that Bogota would continue to share intelligence with international spy agencies, including those of the United States. Petro’s Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, said that reports about the alleged breakdown in intelligence cooperation between the two countries were due to “a misunderstanding”. He added that Colombia would “continue working […] against drug trafficking and crime with the United States”.

Now the director of the DNI, Jorge Lemus, has told Agence France Presse that his agency’s relationship with the CIA had not been disrupted, despite the high-level political dispute between Colombia and the United States. The CIA “are collaborating a lot, and so are we”, said Lemus. The spy chief added that Colombian counternarcotics forces had destroyed “over 10,000” illicit cocaine labs in 2025 and were continuing operations against drug cartels “together with them [the CIA], hand-in-hand with them. We continue exactly as before […] not only with the CIA, but with all agencies”.

Lemus’ comments are reportedly the first high-level confirmation of Benedetti’s November 13 statement that intelligence cooperation between Colombia and the United States continued unabated despite the political falling-out between the two countries’ leaders.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 01 December 2025 | Permalink