US Military In Colombia Has To Stop Operations: Court Rules

The Third Section of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca, Colombia, ruled on Wednesday in favor of a legal action issued by opposition senators against president Ivan Duque, regarding the presence in the country of U.S. military troops.

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In Colombia, citizens are allowed to appeal under a rule named Tutela Action, by which citizens can demand respect for their constitution. When it comes to the entrance of foreign troops into the country, the decision has to be debated first in the Senate, a procedure that Ivan Duque deliberately violated.

After senators Iván Cepeda, Castro, Roosvelt Rodríguez, Antonio Sanguino, José Ritter López, Wilson Arias, Guillermo García Realpe, Victoria Sandino, Temístocles Ortega, Narváez, Aida Avella, Gustavo Petro Urrego, Alexander López Maya, Criselda Lobo Silva, Alberto Castilla, Julián Gallo, Jorge Londoño, Iván Marulanda, Feliciano Valencia, Jorge Guevara, Angélica Lozano Correa, Gustavo Bolívar, José Aulo Polo Narváez, Jorge Robledo, Israel Zúñiga, Pablo Catatumbo and Andrés Cristo issued the demand, Cundinamarca´s court has backed the plaintiffs.

On June 1, 2020, the U.S. sent 53 soldiers of a so-called Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) to Colombia to assist the military in counternarcotics operations in war-torn areas.

After the demand, Magistrate Bertha Lucy Ceballos Posada issued a ruling by which the President of the Republic is given 48 hours to report to the Senate information on the presence of SFAB in Colombian territory as well as suspending all activity of the U.S. brigade within the country.