The U.S. Treasury Department announced Friday that it has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of playing a “role in the global illicit drug trade.” The sanctions also target Petro’s wife, his son, and Colombia’s interior minister.
“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.
Petro wrote on X that he had hired an American lawyer and planned to challenge the sanctions.
The sanctions come just days after President Trump announced that he had suspended “all payments” to Colombia, accusing Petro of failing to curb drug production. The State Department previously revoked Petro’s visa following the UN General Assembly session in September.
Treasury officials said Petro’s son, Nicolás, was arrested in 2023 for “money laundering and illicit enrichment” tied to allegations that he channeled funds from drug traffickers into his father’s “total peace” initiative and election campaign.
