President Gustavo Petro said the purchase of the fighter jets was a “deterrence weapon to achieve peace” amid “turbulent” geopolitics.
Published November 15, 2025
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a $4.3 billion deal to buy Swedish fighter jets amid the country’s tensions with the United States.
Petro confirmed at a press conference on Friday that it had reached an agreement with Swedish Saab aircraft maker to buy 17 Gripen fighter jets, confirming for the first time the size and cost of the military acquisition originally announced in April.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“This is a deterrent weapon to achieve peace,” Petro said in a social media post.
The purchase of the fighter jets comes as a buildup of U.S. forces in the region has pushed Colombia and much of the rest of Latin America to the brink, and as the U.S. military conducts deadly offensive operations against shipping in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
The U.S. government claims it has targeted drug-smuggling vessels in 20 confirmed attacks so far in international waters that have killed about 80 people, but has offered no evidence.
Latin American leaders, legal scholars and rights groups have accused the United States of extrajudicial killings of people who should be brought to court for suspected violations of drug-trafficking laws.
US President Donald Trump has also accused Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of involvement in the regional drug trade, an allegation that both leaders strongly deny.
Petro said the new fighter jets would be used to deter “attacks against Colombia from anywhere.”
“In a geopolitically turbulent world, such an invasion “could come from anywhere,” he said.
The Colombian leader has been exchanging insults with Donald Trump for weeks, saying the ultimate goal of U.S. expansion in the region is to seize Venezuela’s oil resources and destabilize Latin America.
President Trump has long accused Venezuelan President Maduro of drug trafficking, and more recently accused Petro of being an “illegal drug leader” because of Colombia’s high levels of cocaine production. President Trump also withdrew U.S. financial aid from Colombia and removed Colombia from the list of countries considered allies in the fight against international drug trafficking.
Amid a war of words between Washington and Bogotá, Petro announced last week that Colombia would stop sharing information with the United States on combating drug trafficking, a threat that government officials quickly retracted.
AFP reported that American and French companies also tried to sell fighter jets to Colombia, but Bogotá ultimately sold them to Sweden’s Saab.
Sweden’s Defense Minister Pal Jonsson said Colombia was joining Sweden, Brazil and Thailand in selecting Gripen jets, which would “significantly deepen” defense ties between Bogotá and Stockholm.
🇸🇪🇨🇴Today, we are proud to announce that Colombia joins the Gripen E family alongside Sweden, Brazil and Thailand. Colombia’s purchase of 17 Gripen E/Fs significantly deepens the defense relationship between the two countries, with Colombia receiving one of the best fighter jets in the world. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/g0rESq69nD
— Paul Johnson (@PlJonson) November 14, 2025
