Medellín Judge Reviews Colombia’s Foreign Military Operations
A court in Medellín has admitted a citizen's constitutional claim against Colombia's announced authorisation of joint operations with United States forces. The government has yet to publish the act that grants it. The post Medellín Judge Reviews Colombia’s Foreign Military Operations appeared first on The Rio Times .
On 26 August 2026, a court in Medellín reviewed Colombia's foreign military operations after a private citizen filed a constitutional claim. The 34th Oral Administrative Court of the Medellín Circuit admitted the case and ordered the Presidency, Foreign Ministry, and Defence Ministry to produce any documentation behind their announcement of joint operations against narcoterrorism.
The claimant, Walter Leandro Aguirre Mazo, sought an urgent interim measure under a decree, but the court denied it due to the lack of proof of imminent danger. The constitutional basis for foreign military operations lies in Article 86 of the 1991 Constitution, which allows any citizen to file a writ without a lawyer. The court ordered the Senate's General Secretariat to certify whether any permission request for foreign troops' transit arrived, and if not, to determine if the government consulted the Consejo de Estado before proceeding.
The Constitution grants the Senate the sole power to permit foreign troops' transit through Colombian territory, as stipulated in Article 173, paragraph 4. The government must also obtain a prior opinion from the Consejo de Estado before foreign troops, warships, or military aircraft transit or station, as per Article 237, paragraph 3.
Colombia signed a complementary agreement with the United States in October 2009, which the Constitutional Court deemed a treaty in 2010, requiring Congressional approval. The modulo, the label placed on a document, does not determine its legal nature.
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