21 foreign drug traffickers, 11 nationalities: the international dimension of the fight against drugs
Colombia doesn't just seize cocaine on its own territory: it also captures the kingpins who move it around the world, even when they operate thousands of kilometers away.
In 2025, the Public Force captured 21 high-impact foreign drug traffickers, from 11 different nationalities, seven of them in Bogotá. The list includes French, Belgian, Italian, Ecuadorian, Turkish, Albanian, Panamanian, Peruvian, Dutch, Spanish, and Nigerian nationals.
The most significant case was Dritan Gjika, captured in Abu Dhabi in May 2025. Gjika operated out of Ecuador as the coordinator of a transnational criminal network with connections across several European countries, and his capture showed that international cooperation can reach a high-value target even outside the continent.
These captures add to the 913 extraditions carried out during this administration, and confirm that the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia is no longer confined to the country's jungles and labs: today it is also fought in airports, bank accounts, and cooperation agreements with dozens of countries.
