Jorge Lemus, head of Colombia’s National Directorate of Intelligence (DNI), has pushed back against assertions that his organization has ceased working with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other American intelligence bodies. His statement appears to directly counter an earlier move by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who on November 11 ordered a halt to intelligence exchanges with U.S. agencies in protest of American operations in the Caribbean.
President Petro’s suspension order came after U.S. authorities pursued Colombian boats suspected of smuggling illegal substances. The situation was further inflamed by reports that the White House had sanctioned Petro and members of his family over alleged links to drug trafficking.
Yet, within just 48 hours, Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti sought to clarify the situation, calling reports of a breakdown in cooperation a misunderstanding and reiterating Colombia’s commitment to working with international partners – including U.S. agencies – to combat the narcotics trade.
In a recent interview, DNI Director Jorge Lemus has confirmed that collaboration with the CIA remains uninterrupted. Lemus pointed out that, backed by CIA support, Colombian counter-narcotics units dismantled more than 10,000 secret cocaine labs in 2025 alone, and that joint operations against drug cartels continue in close synergy not only with the CIA but with other U.S. entities as well.
In effect, Lemus’s statement serves as the first high-level, official endorsement of Minister Benedetti’s November 13 claim: despite visible political friction between Bogota and Washington, intelligence and security cooperation between Colombia and the United States persists.