Colombia has halted arms purchases from the United States, its biggest military partner, over Washington’s claim that the South American country is failing to halt cocaine trafficking.

Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti announced the move on Tuesday, as President Gustavo Petro accused the US of seeking to “participate” in the country’s domestic politics and looking for a “puppet president” ahead of elections next year.

“From this moment on … weapons will not be purchased from the United States,” Benedetti told Blu Radio in an interview on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Monday decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drugs, accusing the country of allowing cocaine production to surge to “all-time records”.

Though seen as a largely symbolic move, it marked

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