Geopolitics › Latin America › Venezuela
Colombia
Independent 1810; De la Espriella president since Aug 2026· Country
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
Latin America's third-most-populous country, a longtime US security partner and the top cocaine producer, now under a new right-wing president.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
About 53 million people; GDP about $420 billion. A presidential republic with one of Latin America's longest records of elected government. Strengths: oil, coal, coffee, flowers, growing tourism and a 2016 peace deal with the FARC guerrillas. Weaknesses: record coca crops, the ELN and FARC splinter groups, and strained public finances. Gustavo Petro, its first leftist president (2022–26), was succeeded in August 2026 by right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella. Investing: a Colombia country ETF, or ADRs of Ecopetrol and Bancolombia.
Why it matters
It has been Washington's closest South American security partner since Plan Colombia (2000), is a NATO global partner, and hosts about 2.8 million Venezuelan migrants.
Key facts and numbers
Data from DANE (Colombia's statistics agency), the IMF, and UNODC coca surveys, which recorded a record of about 253,000 hectares of coca in 2023. As of 2026.
What to watch
Outlook: whether De la Espriella's hard-line security agenda restores close US ties and cuts coca, or revives the violence of past crackdowns.
Connections (2)
▸Colombia borders VenezuelaFact
The relationship
The two share a porous border of about 2,200 km, crossed by migrants, smuggled fuel and cocaine. Colombian guerrillas such as the ELN operate from Venezuelan territory. Colombia hosts about 2.8 million Venezuelan migrants, so every shift in Caracas, including Maduro's fall, ripples across the border.
Since when and why
From the Guajira peninsula to the Amazon; relations broke in 2019 under President Iván Duque and were restored by Petro in 2022.
How we know
Migración Colombia and UN migration data, UNODC drug-route reports and Colombian military reports on ELN camps in Venezuela.
What to watch
Whether Venezuela's new leadership acts against armed groups on its side, and whether migrants start returning in large numbers, is unknown.
▸Colombia clashed under Petro over drugs with United StatesFact
The relationship
Colombia was Washington's top drug-war partner, but leftist Gustavo Petro opposed forced coca eradication and condemned the boat strikes. In 2025 the US decertified Colombia's drug efforts, cut aid, revoked Petro's visa and sanctioned him; Petro accused Washington of murder. Tensions eased after a February 2026 White House meeting.
Since when and why
From the January 2025 deportation-flight dispute to the September 2025 decertification and October 2025 Treasury sanctions on Petro and his family.
How we know
The State Department's decertification notice, the Treasury sanctions listing, and both leaders' public statements and social-media posts.
What to watch
Whether the clash reflected policy differences or personal politics, and whether President De la Espriella fully restores the old partnership, are open questions.