The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Francisco Petro and his family for alleged involvement in the global illicit drug trade.
The Trump administration’s Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Francisco Petro, along with his wife, son and a close associate, accusing the group of being involved in the global illicit drug trade.
The action was taken under a Biden administration executive order targeting foreigners involved in the drug trade.
Petro joins a number of other world leaders under sanction by the Treasury, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and former president of Syria Bashar al-Assad.
«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», Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a news release. «President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.»
Petro responded to the announcement on X, calling the sanction «a complete paradox.»
«Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat has come true; my children, my wife, and I have been added to the OFAC list», Petro wrote in a post. «My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the USA. Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively has brought me this measure from the government of the society we helped so much to curb their cocaine consumption. A complete paradox, but not a step back and never on our knees.»
The Treasury accused Petro, his wife Veronica, eldest son Nicolás, and Minister of Interior Armando Benedetti of being involved in narcotics trafficking and narcoterrorism, which it said is continuing to fuel violence, corruption and instability in Colombia, while also «posing significant challenges to regional and international security.
