Washington has accused Gustavo Petro of enabling drug cartels, a claim he has denied.
The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a senior minister, accusing him of allowing drug cartels to flourish and traffic narcotics to North America. Petro rejected the accusation and said his administration has made record progress in seizing drugs and dismantling criminal networks.
In a statement on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that since Petro took office in 2022, “Cocaine production in Colombia has skyrocketed at the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.”
He added that US President Donald Trump is taking “Strong action to protect our nation and make it clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking into our nation.”
Washington said the sanctions also apply to first lady Verónica del Socorro Alcocer García, Petro’s son Nicolás, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, who they called accomplices of the Colombian leader. The sanctions freeze any assets they have in the United States and prohibit US entities from dealing with them.
Trump previously called Petro “a terrible leader” and “a bully” while Colombia qualifies as “a drug den.”
In posts on X, Petro rejected the appointment, insisting that his administration has“They seized more cocaine than anyone else in the history of the world.” Called the treasury to action “an arbitrariness typical of an oppressive regime” adding: “We do not kneel, we are no one’s colony.”
The sanctions come after the United States carried out attacks against suspected drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing dozens of people. Although Washington has claimed that the ships were linked to Venezuela, Colombia expressed its strong opposition to the operation, condemning the attacks and encouraging the United States. “respect the norms dictated by international law.”
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