US Sanctions Colombian President, Citing Failure in Drug War

October 25, 2025 | 06:10 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, as President Donald Trump escalated a long-standing feud with Washington's ally in Latin America over allegations that Petro had allowed the flow of cocaine to the United States.

"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," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement as quoted by Asiaone.

Bessent claimed that Petro "has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity."

"Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation," he said.

The U.S. also blacklisted Petro's eldest son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, and his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia, as well as Colombia's Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.

The U.S. State Department had earlier revoked Petro's visa in late September following his statements in support of Palestine during the UN General Assembly.

Following the announcement, the U.S. State Department said it would withdraw Colombia's certification as a U.S. partner in anti-drug efforts.

Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the United States will not turn a blind eye to Petro's efforts to ease tensions and embolden narcoterrorists.

He added that the U.S. is committed to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and preventing deadly illegal drugs from entering our country.

Pigott emphasized that the decision regarding Colombia's certification reflects the Trump administration's criticism of Petro and his inner circle.

He added that the U.S. is ready to support Colombia's security forces, judicial institutions, and local officials in joint efforts to combat drug trafficking.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of those targeted and generally prohibit American citizens from dealing with them.

"President Trump has been clear that President Petro better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won't be done nicely," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a separate statement.

Petro's Denial

Petro denied the grounds of the U.S. accusations, stating that his government had seized more cocaine than ever before and that the expansion of coca plants, the raw material for cocaine, had slowed every year since 2021.

"What the U.S. Treasury says is a lie," Petro said on Friday. "My government did not increase cocaine, it did the opposite, my government has seized more cocaine than in the whole history of the world."

Tensions between Washington and many countries in the region have escalated in recent weeks.

The U.S. military has stepped up activities in the southern Caribbean, attacking ships in international waters accused of carrying drugs without evidence. This week, Trump referred to Petro as an "illegal drug leader" after the left-leaning president accused the U.S. of "murder" through the attacks.

Petro, whose term will end in 10 months, has consistently opposed the attacks. He has sought to end Colombia's six-decade conflict through peace agreements and surrenders with rebels and criminal gangs, but these efforts have not borne fruit.

Petro, who first gained fame as a senator by exposing the ties of some of his fellow parliamentarians to paramilitary groups involved in cocaine trafficking, previously called the sanctions "a complete paradox."

He said he had hired a U.S. lawyer to defend himself and spoke to thousands of his supporters in downtown Bogota on Friday night, saying that he has no money in the United States.

Although rare, the imposition of sanctions on a head of state is not unprecedented. This move adds Petro to a shortlist that includes the leaders of Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea.

In X, Benedetti said he was punished just for stating that Petro is not a drug trafficker, and the sanctions prove that the U.S. war on drugs is a "hoax."

Former parliament member Nicolas Petro, who is facing corruption charges in Colombia, said in X that he is being targeted because he is his father's son and that his pending case has nothing to do with drug trafficking.

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