Washington, United States – The U.S. Treasury Department, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), announced sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro and several of his associates, under anti-narcotics laws.
“Since Gustavo Petro took office, cocaine production in Colombia has reached its highest levels in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning our citizens,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in an official statement.
Bicent added that the Colombian president “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to take any action to stop their activities,” noting that US President Donald Trump “took strong action today to protect our country and make clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking that threatens US national security.”
The sanctions also included Nicolás Petro, the son of the Colombian president, Verónica del Socorro Alcocer García, Colombia’s first lady, and Armando Benedetti, a senior government official.
Under these measures, all assets and property of the sanctioned individuals within the United States will be frozen, and any US entities or individuals will be prohibited from engaging in financial or commercial transactions with them.
This development comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Bogotá over Petro’s anti-drug policies, following US accusations of “lenient treatment of cocaine trafficking networks” and “weak security cooperation” with US authorities.
