&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US imposes sanctions on Colombian President Petro, his family over drug trade accusations")
The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and a member of his government after levelling accusations of their involvement in the global drug trade, escalating tensions with the leftist leader of one of the closest US allies in South America. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, “Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”
A complete paradox, says Petro
The move marks a new low in relations between the countries. Trump has accused Bogota of being complicit in the illicit drug trade.
The rare US imposition of sanctions on a head of state added Petro to a short list that includes the leaders of Russia, Venezuela and North Korea.
“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” Bessent said.
Petro said in a post on X that he had sought to fight drug trafficking for decades.
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“Fighting drug trafficking for decades, and effectively, has brought me this measure from the government of the very society we helped so much to stop their cocaine consumption. A complete paradox—but not one step back, and never on our knees.”
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Trump halted halted all funding to Colombia
Trump and Petro have clashed several times since the former took office in January, including in an escalating feud stemming from US military strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs in the region.
Last weekend, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Colombia and said on Wednesday that all funding to the country had been halted.
Last month, the US added Colombia, the top recipient of American assistance in the region, to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years.
After Trump accused him of having ties to drug trafficking, Petro on Wednesday said he would resort to the US court system to defend himself.
“Against the calumnies that high-ranking officials have hurled at me on US soil, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the US courts,” Petro wrote on X without naming Trump.
