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The American administration has formally classified the Gulf Clan, Colombia's largest and most powerful criminal group, as a terrorist entity.

This notorious drug-trafficking militia, with origins in right-wing paramilitary forces, operates in at least 20 of Colombia's regions.

It controls key people- and drug-smuggling routes through the notorious Darién Gap and has fought leftwing rebels for control of criminal networks along the shared border.

A Political Facade?

In the past few years, the organization has sought to rebrand itself as a political force, like other Colombian insurgent factions.

This strategy could secure it different conditions in any potential negotiations. However, it is generally not seen to have tangible political objectives.

US Government Statement

In a Tuesday's statement, the US top diplomat labeled the Gulf Clan—which calls itself the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC)—as a "brutal and influential criminal organisation."

He emphasized it has "a membership in the thousands" and that its "main revenue stream is cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its violent activities."

Broader Context

While other Colombian criminal groups have been designated as terror entities before, this designation is the first under the present US government.

This administration has previously targeted multiple syndicates in Mexico and a pair in Venezuela.

Growing Diplomatic Strain

The move is likely to exacerbate tensions between the US and Colombia's president, who has vocally criticized the US policy against Venezuela.

This includes deadly airstrikes on vessels that have allegedly killed scores of people in coastal waters.

The two presidents have traded public barbs for weeks. After implying that any narcotics-producing country was a potential target, the US president singled out Colombia, stating the Colombian leader "will face himself some big problems if he doesn't change course."

The Colombian president responded by cautioning his US counterpart to "not wake the jaguar" with militaristic threats.

Narco-Trafficking as Pretext

The US has cited its war on drugs to justify the maritime attacks it alleges are transporting illicit cargo.

The Colombian president has labeled these attacks as "unlawful killing." Recently, the US military stated it had carried out further attacks on three vessels near Colombia's Pacific coast, resulting in eight fatalities.

Previous Designations

Other Colombian armed groups have been on the US foreign terrorist organisations list for years.

• This encompasses the National Liberation Army (ELN).
• It also includes breakaway groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) that resumed fighting after the landmark peace agreement.

Unsuccessful Strategies

Some Colombian officials had believed the Gulf Clan might be weakened by the arrest and deportation of its main leader to the US in 2022.

Instead, the group unleashed a wave of violence, assassinating police officers and local leaders and holding large swaths of the country in a state of fear.

A Major Hurdle

The Gulf Clan is now involved in fragile talks with the government. It is considered the primary barrier to the president's struggling "total peace" plan, which aims to end the country's multifaceted armed conflict.