Now Reading: Colombia considers withdrawing from NATO: analysts warn of strategic consequences
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Colombia considers withdrawing from NATO: analysts warn of strategic consequences
Colombia considers withdrawing from NATO: analysts warn of strategic consequences
President Gustavo Petro's proposal that Colombia abandon its status as a NATO global partner has generated intense reaction among defense experts and political figures in the country. Colombia is the only Latin American country with this type of link to the military alliance, which has allowed it access to security cooperation, military training and modernization of its armed forces, without obligatory military commitments.
Criticism from former authorities
Former Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez warned in an interview with the magazine Week that this decision could be a serious strategic mistake. "Cooperation with NATO has been key to strengthening our capabilities in cyber defense and strategic security," he said.
In the same vein, former Defense Minister Diego Molano warned that an eventual exit could weaken the country's international position. "Colombia would lose access to shared intelligence, high-level training and key relationships with strategic allies," he stressed.
Petro: "We must leave, there is no other way".
Petro's announcement was made last July 16, 2025, during an official event at the Foreign Ministry in Bogota, in the context of a summit on the crisis in Gaza. "We must get out of NATO, there is no other way," he said, noting his rejection of the role of some European countries in providing arms to Israel. "Colombian coal cannot be turned into bombs that kill children in Gaza," he said.
Colombia had been recognized as a NATO global partner since 2017, in a cooperation that formally began in 2013. Although it does not imply full membership, the agreement allows benefits in areas such as peace missions, defense transparency, human rights and specialized military training.
Turnaround in Colombian foreign policy
Analysts interpret this announcement as a clear shift in the Petro government's foreign policy, aimed at breaking with military alliances that it considers incompatible with an ethical stance towards armed conflicts.
"Gaza is an experiment by the superrich to demonstrate how to control a rebellion," said Petro, who also harshly criticized the United States for its lack of dialogue with Latin America and the Caribbean. "They don't want to meet with CELAC," he maintained, referring to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
