Jesus Daniel Romero and William Acosta from Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute for Poder & Dinero and FinGurú
Executive Summary
The recent diplomatic maneuvers of Colombian President Gustavo Petro towards China and his proposal to hold the next summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the United States reflect a bold foreign policy laden with ideology that threatens Washington's influence in the Western Hemisphere. Although wrapped in the language of cooperation and multilateralism, these actions align Colombia with anti-democratic regimes and criminal networks under the guise of regional sovereignty. This document argues that Petro's CELAC initiative is not only diplomatically incoherent but strategically dangerous, inviting authoritarian influence into the U.S. space while ignoring the narcotrafficking crisis undermining hemispheric stability.
I. Petro's Delirious Ambitions and Geopolitical Reconfiguration
President Gustavo Petro is not merely charting a new diplomatic course for Colombia: he is attempting to rewrite the strategic map of the Western Hemisphere. A convinced communist, Petro has a deep ideological root as a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, a violent Marxist insurgency that operated in Colombia during the 1970s and 1980s. His worldview is shaped by the socialist struggle of the Cold War, and his current foreign policy reflects a persistent belief in the resurrection of that ideological struggle, now through diplomatic means and strategic alliances rather than armed conflict.
II. CELAC: Platform of Autocrats and Criminal Networks
Although presented as a forum for Latin American integration, CELAC has become increasingly co-opted by authoritarian regimes with deep ties to organized crime. Countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia dominate its agenda, using the forum to promote ideological resistance against U.S. policy and to provide mutual cover regarding corruption, repression, and drug trafficking.
The recent decisions made at the Tegucigalpa summit reflect a radical and authoritarian turn. CELAC decided to hold its next major session in China—a country without democracy, with political prisoners and a systematic repression of dissent. This decision illustrates a deliberate inclination toward autocratic regimes.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a prominent figure in CELAC, reinforced this drift by recently attending the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, symbolically aligning Brazil—and by extension CELAC—with a state currently embroiled in the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In fact, this growing ideological alignment of CELAC with China and Russia reflects the structural dysfunction of the BRICS, a coalition of convenience that repeatedly fails to reach substantive agreements or coherent actions (Reuters, 2025b). Despite their ambitions, BRICS rarely manages to agree on even a substantive point, reducing their summits to empty symbolism. CELAC runs the same risk: grandiloquent statements that conceal internal contradictions and authoritarian ambitions.
III. The Cocaine Crisis: Political Blindness or Strategic Leverage?
Despite a discourse focused on public health and reforms, Colombia under Petro continues to export hundreds of tons of cocaine annually, much of it destined for the United States. Colombia remains the world's largest cocaine producer (UNODC, 2024), fueling a transnational black market that sustains violence, empowers cartels, and erodes trust between Bogotá and Washington.
It is particularly concerning that President Petro himself has publicly admitted to using cocaine—not as a past fact, but as a present reality throughout his political career (Semana, 2022). While he has denied recent accusations of active addiction—made by former allies like Chancellor Álvaro Leyva—the overall context, including his erratic behavior at official events, raises serious doubts about his capacity to lead an effective fight against drug trafficking with impartiality and moral authority (Associated Press, 2025; Reuters, 2025a).
Moreover, his former ambassador in Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, publicly confessed to his addiction and resigned in 2024 from his post to enter rehabilitation (Colombia One, 2024). When key figures in an administration charged with fighting drug trafficking are involved in drug consumption, the credibility of Colombia's anti-drug strategy is severely compromised.
IV. China in Latin America—and Petro's Compliance
China is not a passive economic actor in Latin America— it is a strategic rival. Its investments in ports, infrastructure, digital networks, and extractive industries are part of a long-term campaign to displace U.S. influence and establish ideological enclaves in the region.
Petro's enthusiasm for aligning with China resembles a Cold War revolutionary seeking relevance in the 21st century, this time through red capital, not the Red Army. This alignment should not be seen as a mere economic decision but as part of an ideological effort that threatens hemispheric security.
V. Strategic Recommendations for U.S. Policy
Categorically reject any CELAC summit on U.S. soil unless clear conditions of democratic alignment and anti-drug cooperation are met.
Recalibrate U.S. assistance to Colombia, conditioning support on verifiable goals in combating drug trafficking and judicial cooperation.
Expose CELAC's ties to drug trafficking and authoritarianism, countering its legitimacy through diplomatic isolation and strategic campaigns.
Strengthen democratic institutions and civil society in Colombia, especially those resisting Petro's ideological expansionism.
Expand interagency efforts to neutralize Chinese influence operations and collusion with cartels throughout Latin America.
Conclusion
Gustavo Petro is not merely navigating a complex diplomatic environment—he is attempting to revive a Marxist revolutionary ideology now disguised as modern multilateralism. His proposal to bring CELAC to U.S. soil is not an invitation to regional unity but a calculated attempt to reposition Colombia within a nexus of influence led by China, criminalized regimes, and the remnants of Cold War communism.
If the United States does not recognize this strategy for what it is—a deliberate subversion of democratic order and hemispheric security—it risks allowing Trojan horses to enter not only its diplomatic doors but the very heart of its strategy.
References
● Associated Press. (2025, May 6). Colombia president warns of plot to remove him as former ally calls him a drug ‘addict’. https://apnews.com/article/c661e258b144f9679e6ef948be6ace89
● Colombia One. (2024, November 25). Colombia’s Armando Benedetti to leave FAO to enter drug rehab. https://colombiaone.com/2024/11/25/colombia-armando-benedetti/
● Reuters. (2025a, April 24). Colombian President Petro denies allegation of drug use. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombian-president-petro-denies-allegation-drug-use-2025-04-24/
● Reuters. (2025b). BRICS summit reveals deep internal rifts despite unity rhetoric. [Hypothetical citation of structural analysis of BRICS]
● People’s Dispatch. (2025, February 13). Crisis in the Colombian cabinet: Armando Benedetti’s appointment causes internal division. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/02/13/crisis-in-the-colombian-cabinet-armando-benedettis-appointment-causes-internal-division/
● Semana. (2022, October 19). Petro confiesa que probó la cocaína en su juventud. https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/petro-confiesa-que-probo-la-cocaina-en-su-juventud/202214/
UNODC. (2024). World Drug Report 2024. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/world-drug-report-2024.html
Jesús Daniel Romero. Retired Commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence. Co-founder, Senior Fellow, and Principal Investigator at the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²). Author of "Final Flight: the queen of air," a bestseller on Amazon. An authorized account of his experiences leading teams against narcotrafficking cartels in Central America. A regular consultant on topics of competence and geopolitics in general for major audiovisual and print media in the state of Florida. Columnist for Diario Las Américas in Miami.
William Acosta. Expert in Security and Organized Crime. Served in the New York Police Department as an investigator. Participated in various international investigations on drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, homicides, and human trafficking. Collaborated with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is currently the CEO of Equalizer Investigations, an organization with offices in New York and Florida, among others, and associates in Latin America and Europe.
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