US Imposes Sanctions On Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, which accuses him of playing a “role in the global illicit drug trade.” His wife, son, and Colombia’s interior minister were also included in the sanctions.

“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to its highest level in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Petro has previously denied such claims. In a post on X, he announced that he had hired a U.S. lawyer to challenge the sanctions. “Fighting drug trafficking for decades — and doing so effectively — has brought me this measure from the government of the very society we helped so much to curb its cocaine consumption,” Petro said, referring to the United States.

Responding angrily to recent U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats, Petro accused Washington of being “murderers.” Just days before the sanctions, Trump declared his decision to freeze “all payments” to Colombia, claiming that Petro “does nothing to stop” drug production in the country.

For years, Colombia had been one of Washington’s closest allies in the fight against narcotics. But relations have soured under Petro, who has frequently clashed with Trump since his return to power. Nicholas Petro, the president’s son, condemned the sanctions as an act of “political and judicial persecution without precedent.”