Suspend Ghana-Colombia port and visa deals over cocaine seizures

The Minority in Parliament is calling on the government to immediately suspend Ghana's maritime, port and visa-waiver arrangements with Colombia, citing national security concerns following a series of large cocaine seizures linked to the country.

In a statement issued on Thursday, October 1, 2026, the Minority Caucus on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee also demanded that the entire framework of agreements be subjected to a comprehensive security review before Parliament.

The caucus said the recent seizures had raised serious questions about Ghana's security and the integrity of its ports, particularly as the country deepens its relationship with Colombia.

At the centre of its concerns is the maritime cooperation agreement signed in March 2026, which establishes a direct shipping link between the Port of Tema and the Port of Cartagena. The deal was intended to boost trade and logistics between Africa and Latin America.

The Minority argued that the arrangement warranted closer scrutiny given Colombia's position in the global cocaine trade. It pointed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's 2026 World Drug Report, which names Colombia, followed by Peru and Brazil, as the main departure points for cocaine shipments worldwide between 2020 and 2024, and notes that most cocaine leaving Colombia is moved by sea.

"Prudence and good governance demand a comprehensive national-security assessment of that arrangement before it is permitted to remain in operation," the Minority said.

The caucus warned that the seizures had already cast doubt on the security of Ghana's ports and cautioned against allowing those concerns to grow.

"Our ports must remain gateways for legitimate trade, and not conduits for international criminal networks," it said.

The Minority said it would continue to press for accountability and for measures to protect Ghana's security, institutions and national interest.