Washington/Bogot, Oct 25: The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of failing to curb drug trafficking and allowing cartels to “flourish,” deepening an already tense diplomatic standoff between the Latin American nation’s first left-wing leader and US President Donald Trump.
In an official statement, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it had designated Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (Gustavo Petro) under Executive Order 14059, which targets foreign individuals involved in the global illicit drug trade. Several of Petro’s close associates – including his wife Veronica Alcocer, his son Nicolas Petro, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti – were also sanctioned.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said cocaine production in Colombia had “exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.”
“President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop their activities,” Bessent said. “Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our country.”
According to OFAC, the designations block all property and interests in property of the listed individuals within U.S. jurisdiction, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, and require that such assets be reported to OFAC.
“Gustavo Petro is being designated today pursuant to Executive Order 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production,” the Treasury statement said.
Petro confirmed the sanctions in a post on X, saying US attorney Daniel Kovalik would represent him.”Fighting drug trafficking effectively for decades brings me this measure from the government of a society we have helped so much to stop cocaine consumption,” Petro wrote. “It’s quite a paradox – but not a step back, and never on our knees.”
The sanctions mark a dramatic escalation in the diplomatic rift between Bogot? and Washington. Petro and Trump have repeatedly clashed, most recently over US airstrikes on boats allegedly used for drug smuggling that killed several Colombians. Trump defended the strikes, saying other nations had “failed to stop the boats,” while Petro condemned them as “murder.”
Among those designated, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, the president’s eldest son and considered his political heir, previously served as his campaign manager in Barranquilla. In 2023, Nicolas was arrested for money laundering and illicit enrichment, accused of channeling funds from drug traffickers into Petro’s “total peace” initiative and his election campaign. He later admitted to receiving money from an individual linked to narcotics trafficking and a contractor tried for financing paramilitary groups.
First Lady Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia was previously appointed by Petro as an ambassador “on a special mission”, a move later annulled by a Colombian court for violating Article 126 of the Constitution, which bars the president from appointing his spouse or partner to public office.
Armando Alberto Benedetti Villaneda, Colombia’s Interior Minister, has held multiple senior roles under Petro and is accused by OFAC of providing financial and material support to the president.
US President Donald Trump has taken action to protect the United States, Bessent said, further noting that Washington would not tolerate narcotics to be trafficked into the country. “As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the Treasury added.
The sanctions, OFAC said, extend to all three – Nicolas Petro, Veronica Alcocer, and Armando Benedetti – for “providing or attempting to provide financial, material, or technological support, or goods and services, in support of Gustavo Petro.”
Colombia was once a key US ally in the decades-long war on drugs, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually in military aid. The latest sanctions, however, underscore a major rupture in relations under Petro’s administration.
Violations of US sanctions can carry severe civil or criminal penalties for both US and foreign individuals, with OFAC authorized to impose fines on a strict liability basis. (UNI)
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