The United States has designated the Gulf Clan, Colombia's largest and most powerful illegal armed criminal group, as a foreign terrorist organisation. The notorious drug-trafficking militia, which traces its roots to far-right paramilitary forces, operates in at least 20 of Colombia's departments and controls key smuggling routes through the Darién Gap.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the group, which also calls itself the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), as a 'violent and powerful criminal organisation with thousands of members' that relies on cocaine trafficking to fund its activities. The designation comes under the Trump administration, which has already targeted six Mexican cartels and two in Venezuela.
The move is expected to heighten tensions between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has opposed US pressure on Venezuela and criticised recent airstrikes that have killed dozens of people. Rubio warned that any country producing narcotics is a potential target, while Petro retorted that Trump should not 'wake the jaguar'.
The US has used its anti-drug campaign to justify strikes on vessels suspected of carrying drug shipments. On Tuesday, the US Southern Command reported new strikes on three boats near Colombia's Pacific coast, killing eight people. Petro has described such attacks as 'murder'.
Other Colombian groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Farc, have long been on the US terror list. The Gulf Clan is currently engaged in stalled talks with the government and is seen as the main obstacle to Petro's 'total peace' plan to end decades of armed conflict.
