After five days of recall for consultations, Colombia and the United States are sending back their respective ambassadors to Washington and Bogota. While no official confirmation has been issued, Colombian media report that John McNamara, the U.S. chargé d’affaires and acting ambassador to Colombia, returned to Bogota after being urgently summoned to Washington on July 3. His recall followed President Gustavo Petro’s unsubstantiated claims of alleged U.S. involvement in a purported plot to remove him from office.
Meanwhile, Colombia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Daniel García-Peña, confirmed he has returned to the Washington after traveling to Bogota in response to President Gustavo Petro’s recall order.
This gesture appears to be an attempt to reduce tensions between the two countries.
Colombia and US return ambassadors in bid to calm diplomatic rift
After five days of renewed diplomatic crisis between Colombia and the United States, both countries are making gestures to calm tensions. The ambassadors’ return follows their recall amid accusations by the Colombian president, that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was complicit in a plot to overthrow him.
Despite a letter from President Gustavo Petro to President Trump retracting the claims about Senator Rubio, the U.S. government went ahead with the recall of its acting ambassador to Colombia, John McNamara.
In response, the Colombian government recalled its representative in Washington, Daniel García-Peña, who traveled to Bogota to brief the administration on the situation.
These returns mark a de-escalation phase after the latest episode of verbal confrontation between the two countries. However, a permanent resolution seems distant given existing disagreements between the two governments.
“Following his meeting with President Gustavo Petro, Ambassador García-Peña reiterated the message previously expressed by the president on multiple occasions: that neither U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor his government participated in any attempt to destabilize Petro’s administration or promote a coup in Colombia,” stated the official communication from the Colombian Foreign Ministry on the matter.
Diplomatic sources indicate Colombia intends to maintain security cooperation with the U.S., particularly regarding dismantling transnational criminal organizations and their financial networks.
Latest episode in recent US-Colombia tensions
While Gustavo Petro’s Colombian government managed cordial relations with the U.S. under Joe Biden’s presidency, Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House marked a turning point in ideological differences between Washington and one of its top partners in Latin America.
The first major crisis erupted days after Trump took office, when Colombia refused to receive deportees from the U.S. due to them being shackled on flights to Bogota.
The U.S. government responded with tariff threats that left Colombian politicians and economic stakeholders on edge for hours–until an agreement was reached to resolve the crisis.
That episode marked the beginning of an ongoing series of disagreements. With deep divisions over sensitive issues like counternarcotics policy, Colombia now faces the risk of losing U.S. certification in September—a situation that could have severe consequences.
However, the latest diplomatic crisis occurred last week when Gustavo Petro accused Marco Rubio of alleged links to a plot orchestrated by Colombian opponents who, according to the president, sought to remove him through a coup.
US tariff threat still looms over Colombia
Despite this apparent compromise, U.S.-Colombia relations remain strained. The threat of new U.S. tariffs effective August 1, still hangs over Colombia and other nations.
Though the Foreign Ministry’s statement on the ambassadors’ return mentions “ongoing permanent dialogue about U.S. tariffs on Colombian products,” it doesn’t clarify whether both sides are close to a tariff-avoidance agreement.
It should be remembered that July 9 was the original deadline set by the Trump administration to impose additional tariffs on countries without trade agreements. However, this deadline was extended to August 1 to maximize potential deals.
To date, only the UK and Vietnam have signed agreements exempting them from new tariffs. This week, the U.S. announced 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea—traditionally American allies.
Colombia is discreetly negotiating an agreement to avoid new tariffs. Though nothing has been revealed about negotiation progress, President Petro’s government hopes to avoid another chapter in its history of disagreements with Donald Trump’s U.S. administration.