Washington imposes unprecedented sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and minister, accusing them of enabling drug cartels.
WASHINGTON: The United States has imposed unprecedented sanctions on Colombia’s leftist president, his wife, son and a top aide, accusing them of enabling drug cartels.
The US Treasury blacklisted Gustavo Petro, first lady Veronica Alcocer, his eldest son Nicolas, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti on Friday.
These sanctions ban them from travel to the United States and freeze any US assets they hold.
This unusual move typically targets drug kingpins, terror operatives and dictators involved in widespread human rights abuses.
The rupture caps months of personal friction between President Donald Trump and Petro over US deportations and strikes on suspected drug boats off South America.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.
Since taking power in 2022, Petro has opted to engage well-armed cocaine-producing groups in talks rather than conduct open warfare.
Critics say this policy has allowed cartels and guerrilla groups to flourish, seizing territory and producing record amounts of cocaine.
Much of this cocaine ends up in the United States, which remains the world’s biggest consumer.
The US government provided no evidence linking Petro directly to drug trafficking.
Petro’s son faces accusations of accepting money from an alleged drug trafficker for his father’s campaign, though the case remains undecided in court.
The sanctions announcement triggered a furious response in Bogota.
Petro, a former guerrilla, channelled defiant messages from famed Latin American revolutionaries on social media.
He declared “Not one step back and never on my knees” in response to the sanctions.
Interior Minister Armando Benedetti proved even more defiant with anti-US slogans and denunciations.
Benedetti stated “This proves that every empire is unjust” in a social media tirade against the decision.
He added “For the US, a nonviolent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker” and concluded with “Gringos go home.”
Petro had already called for a mass protest against Trump’s policies to be held in Bogota on Friday.
The United States has destroyed 10 vessels and killed at least 43 people in under two months of strikes off South America, according to an AFP tally based on US figures.
Petro has called these operations “extrajudicial killings” and used a recent trip to New York to call on US soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders.
Trump has bristled at Petro’s open criticism of his policies and fiery anti-Washington rhetoric.
Calling Petro “a thug” with a “fresh mouth,” Trump announced a freeze on hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Colombia.
Trump had already stripped Petro of his US visa before Friday’s sanctions announcement.
Analysts warn the spat between these two mercurial leaders could profoundly impact security in the hemisphere.
Colombia has long served as a US bulwark against cocaine flows and leftist insurgencies, representing Washington’s chief ally in South America. – AFP
