Is Colombia's sympathy for terror-tied Pakistan driven by China's growing influence and deep drug cartel ties?

In a curious and telling move, Colombia expressed condolences to Pakistan for the "loss of lives" in the wake of India's precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor on terror launchpads across the Line of Control. Yet, Bogota stayed silent on the innocent lives lost in the April 22 Pahalgam horror — an attack attributed to Pakistan-based terror outfits. The diplomatic snub has not gone unnoticed in New Delhi.

Tharoor Slams Colombia's Reaction On Pahalgam Attack

""I have to say that we were a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the victims of terrorism," said all-party delegation leader and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

"We will say to our friends in Colombia, there can be no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who resist them. There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend. We are only exercising our right of self-defence, and if there is any misunderstanding here on this call, we are here to dispel any such misunderstanding. We're very happy to talk to Colombia in some detail about the circumstances," he added.

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The Pahalgam terror attack was openly claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), operating directly out of Muridke, Pakistan. Despite later retracting from the claim under pressure from its handlers, TRF had already twice taken responsibility, confirming India's worst fears: that Pakistan continues to harbour, breed, and protect jihadi terror infrastructure on its soil.

Why would Colombia, once hailed as one of America's closest security and trade allies in Latin America, express sympathy for a state globally known for harbouring jihadist groups and exporting terrorism? Could this be a diplomatic misstep? Or is it something deeper?

China-Pakistan-Colombia Triangle: ‘A friend of a friend’

Colombia’s growing closeness with China may offer some answers. Over the past five years, Beijing has pumped billions into Colombian infrastructure, mining, and tech. In 2024, Colombia-China bilateral trade crossed $21 billion, accompanied by multiple “strategic cooperation” pacts.

Major General Sudhakar Jee (Retd) provided a stark analysis of Colombia’s recent geopolitical shift to Asianet News English as he firmly stated, “A friend of a friend also becomes your friend, the saying goes. It holds true in geopolitics as well.”

“Under President Gustavo Petro, the country's fiscal situation has worsened in recent years amid rising fuel and food costs. In 2024, GDP growth plummeted to 0.6% from 7.3% in 2022. On top of that, Petro has crossed swords with Trump as his government leans towards China. He even called the US President ‘Donald Duck’. That's quite a shift, because until recently, Colombia was one of America's closest trade and security partners,” he said.

“The trigger point was deportation flights from the US carrying alleged illegal Colombian immigrants. While Colombia initially denied entry to US military planes, viewing it as a sort of humiliation, it then sent its own aircraft to bring them home. The move came after Trump warned of hefty US tariffs,” he added.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a familiar tool of influence. 

“Earlier in May, Colombia signed a joint cooperation plan under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ambitious connectivity project of China, Pakistan's 'all-weather friend'. It came as the country started leaning towards China on trade amid strained ties with the US under Trump,” said Major General Sudhakar Jee (Retd).

“With Colombia now part of the BRI, China has also extended a welcome gift, proposing to sell two dozen Chengdu J-10CE 'Vigorous Dragon' fighter jets. The move is a familiar part of China's powerplay. Pakistan is also heavily dependent on China for its defence needs (it imports nearly 82% of its military hardware),” he added.

"Against the backdrop of these developments, little is left to imagination as to why Colombia chose to side with China's "ironclad friend" Pakistan as tensions ran high with India," he concluded.

Narco-State to Narco-Submarine: Pakistan’s Deep Links to Colombia

Colombia’s surprising diplomatic tilt towards Pakistan amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions raises questions beyond mere geopolitical alignment. Reports suggest that deep-rooted connections between Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus and Colombian drug cartels may be a hidden factor shaping Bogota’s stance.

In 2023, Iqbal Malhotra’s investigative book The Bomb, the Bank, the Mullah and the Poppies, explored the connection between Pakistan’s ISI with Colombian drug networks. The book also explored how Pakistan’s deep state — ISI, Army generals, and rogue scientists — have allegedly operated like a criminal syndicate, using drug money, terror networks, and nuclear blackmail as tools of foreign policy.

Malhotra exposes the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) — the "world’s sleaziest bank" — as Pakistan’s shadowy financial arm. He documents how BCCI laundered billions in drug money from Afghanistan and Colombia, and financed not just jihadist militias, but Pakistan’s clandestine nuclear ambitions.

General Zia-ul-Haq, General Mirza Aslam Beg, and later General Hamid Gul — all key architects of Pakistan’s deep state — are said to have enabled global narcotics networks in exchange for cash and influence, funding jihadist foot soldiers and nuclear deals from Libya to North Korea.

A 2023 report also revealed how Pakistani engineers have begun playing a critical role in aiding Colombian drug cartels in smuggling cocaine into the United States. With narco submarines becoming the cartel's preferred method for trafficking, these vessels—virtually undetectable and increasingly sophisticated—were seen dramatic design upgrades, allegedly courtesy of foreign technical experts.

According to the report, several engineers and mechanics from Pakistan and Afghanistan, driven by economic instability in their home countries, illegally entered Colombia and are now embedded in the operations of major South American drug syndicates.

These engineers are believed to be central to the cartel’s  strategy—building fully submersible narco subs, a significant leap from the older, semi-submersible designs. Constructed in remote sheds scattered across Colombian forests, these submarines are reportedly equipped with radar-deflecting exteriors, underwater exhaust systems to dodge thermal detection, and can travel at low depths for extended durations, making them nearly invisible to coast guard patrols and satellite surveillance. 

The report further highlighted that some of these Pakistani and Afghan engineers have risen to supervisory roles, overseeing entire manufacturing operations and training local recruits, further entrenching foreign expertise into the heart of the cartel's maritime trafficking enterprise.

This alleged deep entanglement between Pakistan and Colombian drug cartels sheds light on the complex reality Steven C. McCraw, then Assistant Director of the FBI’s Office of Intelligence, highlighted back in 2003. “Terrorism and crime are inextricably linked. International and Domestic Terrorism Organizations and their supporters engage in a myriad of crimes to fund and facilitate terrorist activities. These crimes include extortion, kidnaping, robbery, corruption, alien smuggling, document fraud, arms trafficking, cyber crime, white collar crime, smuggling of contraband, money laundering and certainly drug trafficking,” he had stated.

India’s Message to Colombia: Remember Your Own Wounds

Wrapping up his remarks in Bogota, Tharoor struck a poignant chord by invoking Colombia's own history of suffering. “Just as Colombia has endured many terror attacks, so have we in India. We have endured a very large number of attacks for almost four decades,” he said.

“There is no doubt as to where this came from, and we will reserve the right to hit back. Frankly, it is now very well established that Pakistan has been breeding the monsters of terrorism for a very long time for their purposes,” he added.

In choosing silence on Pahalgam and speaking up for Pakistan, Colombia may have sent a message—but so has India, loud and clear. The question now is: will Colombia reconsider its stance in light of these realities, or will it continue to side with a state long accused of nurturing terrorism?