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Volume 4,Issue 3

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26 February 2026

A National Security Perspective on the United States’ Drug War Policy in Colombia

Xingchen Guo*
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1 China West Normal University, School of History and Culture, Nanchong 637002, Sichuan, China
CEF 2026 , 4(2), 73–78; https://doi.org/10.18063/CEF.v4i2.1590
© 2026 by the Author. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Colombia has long been recognized as one of the world’s primary producers of cocaine, and its geographic location has made it a crucial hub in the global drug trade. the consequences of Colombia’s drug trade extend beyond domestic issues and directly affect the national security interests of the United States.In response to these challenges, the United States government has maintained long-term cooperation with the Colombian government, supporting various anti-drug strategies aimed at reducing narcotics production and dismantling trafficking networks. These efforts have included military assistance, intelligence cooperation, and large-scale development programs such as Plan Colombia.This paper examines the evolution of U.S. drug war policies in Colombia from the perspective of national security, By exploring both domestic and international dimensions of the drug war, this study seeks to provide a clearer understanding of the broader geopolitical implications of U.S.–Colombia cooperation in combating narcotics trafficking.

Keywords
War on Drugs
U.S. National Security
U.S.–Colombia Relations
Funding
2025 General Project“A Study on the Shaping and Reconstruction of the Mandala System in Southeast Asia by Indian Religious Culture” (Project No.: PSC25YB05) by the Pakistan Research Center and India Research China West Normal University. 2025 General Project “A Study of Economic Interactions Among Han, Tibetan, and Qiang Communities in the ‘Hengfengjiu’ Trading House in the Zaguonao River Basin During the Qing Dynasty” (Project No.: QX2025YJS02) by the Sichuan Minjiang River Upper Economic and Social Society and Ecological Civilisation Research.
References

[1] Dario ET, 2005, The Decisive Phase of Colombia's War on Narco-Terrorism. Defense Department.

[2] Peng MZ, 2021, U.S. policy toward Colombia, 1921–1979 (Master’s thesis, Heilongjiang University), 43-44.
[3] Dario ET, 2005, The Decisive Phase of Colombia's War on Narco-Terrorism. Defense Department.

[4] Solaún M, 2002, U.S. Interventions in Latin America: "Plan Colombia". Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois (ACDIS Occasional Paper), 2.

[5] Lowenthal AF, 2006, From Regional Hegemony to Complex Bilateral Relations: The United States and Latin America in the Early 21st Century. Nueva Sociedad, 206: 2.

[6] Solaún M, 2002, U.S. Interventions in Latin America: "Plan Colombia". Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois (ACDIS Occasional Paper), 3.

[7] Bai FS, 2001, What is the Colombia Plan? Latin American Studies, (2): 46-48.

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