Washington — The Trump administration on Friday sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro, along with his wife, son and a close associate, an escalation of the feud between President Trump and the man he called an “illegal drug leader.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions against Petro and others, freezing their access to U.S. assets and blocking their ability to transact with U.S. entities.
“Since President Gustavo Petro took office, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded at the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “President Petro allowed drug cartels to thrive and refused to put an end to this activity. Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and making clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking in our country.”
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the United States “will not turn a blind eye to Petro’s appeasement and emboldening of narcoterrorists.”
“We are committed to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and preventing deadly illegal drugs from entering our country,” Pigott said. “There must be no impunity for drug traffickers, nor for acts of terrorism or violence committed by armed criminal groups.”
Petro criticized American strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that killed more than 40 people. In response, Mr. Trump said he would cut all foreign aid to Colombia and threatened to raise tariffs.
In a statement published on
In a exclusive conversation Earlier this week on CBS News, Petro claimed that some of those killed by U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats were innocent civilians, and he reiterated his accusation that the attacks violate international law. The White House has denied that innocent civilians were killed in the ship strikes.
The Pentagon also announced Friday that the United States will send an aircraft carrier strike group off Latin America, an escalation that will significantly increase the number of troops and ships dedicated to the Trump administration’s operations. campaign to fight against drug traffickers.
