US Imposes Sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro Over Alleged Role in Drug Trade

The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of involvement in the global illicit drug trade — a move that has sparked a diplomatic storm between Washington and Bogotá.

The sanctions, announced by the US Treasury Department on Friday, also target Petro’s wife, his son Nicolás, and Colombia’s Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti.

“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 said in a statement.

President Petro swiftly rejected the allegations, calling them “a paradox” and vowing to challenge the measures legally.

“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 wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Quite a paradox, but not one step back, and never on our knees.”

Tensions between Petro and US President Donald Trump have been escalating for months, particularly after Washington intensified military operations in the southern Caribbean targeting alleged drug-smuggling vessels.

Petro has accused the US of “murdering innocents,” claiming that some of the targeted boats carried Colombian civilians. US defense officials recently confirmed that one strike in the region killed Colombian nationals, while another attack on a submersible left two survivors, including one Colombian.

Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst for Colombia at the International Crisis Group, described the move as “the personalization of a bilateral crisis.”

“On the institutional level, there really isn’t a problem between the US and Colombia,” she told CNN. “The issue is this personal conflict. The Colombian military remains one of the US’s most capable and cooperative partners in the region.”

Colombia, long regarded as Washington’s most reliable ally in South America, was designated a “major non-NATO ally” by the Biden administration in 2022.

The sanctions come just days after President Trump announced an end to all financial aid to Colombia, accusing Petro of failing to curb drug production. The US also revoked Petro’s visa following last month’s UN General Assembly session.

Interior Minister Armando Benedetti denounced the move, writing on X, “For the US, a non-violent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker. Gringos go home.”

Petro’s son Nicolás also called the sanctions “political and judicial persecution without precedent,” saying he plans to appeal to international organizations to defend his rights.

The US Treasury said Nicolás Petro had been arrested in 2023 for alleged money laundering and illicit enrichment tied to his father’s “total peace” initiative and campaign funding. Nicolás denied any link to drug trafficking, insisting the Colombian prosecutor had publicly stated that his case was unrelated to his father’s presidential campaign.

The Colombian presidency has yet to issue an official statement.