The Trump administration announced on Friday that it was imposing sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro amid a spat between the Colombian leader and President Trump over the US bombing campaign against boats in Latin America.
In a statement on the sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Petro of allowing “drug cartels to flourish” and refusing to stop the activity of the cartels, allegations the Colombian president denied.
“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 said in response to the sanctions.
The US sanctions also targeted Petro’s eldest son, his wife, and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, who also denied the allegations against him. Benedetti suggested he was targeted for defending Petro against US claims that he was involved in drug trafficking.
“In this country, no one buys the story that I am a drug trafficker,” Benedetti said. “For the US, a non-violent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker. Gringos go home.”
Washington and Bogotá have a long history of military cooperation, and the US designated Colombia as a major non-NATO ally in 2022, the same year Petro came into office. Petro’s term expires in August 2026, and under a 2015 change to the Colombian constitution, he cannot run for a second term.
Petro and Trump have clashed over other issues, including deportation flights, and the Colombian leader has been very critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and US support for it. During a speech at a pro-Palestine protest in New York during the UN General Assembly, Petro said US troops should “disobey” orders related to Gaza, prompting the Trump administration to revoke his visa.
The current spat escalated after Petro accused the US of murder for killing a Colombian citizen in one of its boat strikes. Trump responded to the accusation by announcing he was cutting all aid to Colombia. The Pentagon has offered no evidence to back up its claims about what the vessels it is targeting or carrying and has not shared any information about the identity of the people it has killed.
