CNN correspondent Natasha Bertrand, who turned in her Pentagon press pass in October to protest a new media access policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on Tuesday posted on social media: “Exclusive–The UK has suspended sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes they are illegal, sources tell CNN.”
Note: President Donald Trump has ordered a series of fatal missile attacks on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, claiming the people aboard are drug traffickers headed to the United States. Hegseth reported on Monday that 76 people have been killed in the attacks, but the Defense Secretary has not released the identities of those killed nor offered evidence that they were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.
Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, replied to Bertrand (translated from Spanish): “Issue the order to all levels of the public security forces’ intelligence to suspend the sending of communications and other dealings with U.S. security agencies. Such a measure will be maintained as long as the missile attack on boats in the Caribbean persists. The fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.”
In response to our story about UK suspending some intel sharing with the US… Colombia’s president now says he’s ordered Colombian security services to suspend intelligence sharing with the US https://t.co/ViDgh1Zkrr
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) November 12, 2025
Bertrand amplified President Petro’s response today and added: “In response to our story about UK suspending some intel sharing with the US… Colombia’s president now says he’s ordered Colombian security services to suspend intelligence sharing with the US.”
In October, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Petro and members of his family. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that President Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
President Trump said of Petro, in the Oval Office: “He’s a guy that is making a lot of drugs.” Trump added: “He better watch it, or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country.” (Trump’s assessment of Petro’s cooperation indicates that the intelligence sharing was already deemed inadequate.)
It is not only foreign leaders who have characterized the the U.S. attacks as an affront to due process. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, has also called out Trump and Hegseth for the “unlawful” attacks, saying, “I would call them extrajudicial killings. This is akin to what China does, what Iran does with drug dealers — they summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it’s wrong.”
Rand Paul on Trump’s strikes on boats: “I would call them extrajudicial killings. This is akin to what China does, what Iran does with drug dealers — they summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it’s wrong.” pic.twitter.com/NPCIt9kzgT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 26, 2025