U.S. Treasury sanctions Colombia President Petro over alleged role in drug trafficking
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, following a spat with President Donald Trump over military strikes in the Caribbean and drug trafficking in the South American nation.
The sanctions marked an unprecedented escalation in tensions with a country that has been for decades one of Washington’s key Latin American allies and a top recipient of U.S. aid.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Petro for sanctions under counternarcotics authority and included him in a blacklist of “specially designated nationals” whose assets in the United States are frozen.
According to a Treasury statement, Petro was designated for engaging in activities that have materially contributed to the international proliferation of illegal drugs. The department accused the former guerrilla fighter of providing benefits to narco-terrorist organizations through his “total peace” plan, which officials say has led to record coca cultivation and cocaine production.
“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,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
The Treasury cited Trump’s September determination that Colombia is “failing demonstrably” to uphold its drug control responsibilities.
Also sanctioned were Petro’s wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, and the country’s interior minister, Armando Alberto Benedetti Villaneda, all of whom were described as Petro supporters and associates.
The sanctions come after Trump and Petro traded insults in recent days and the U.S. president threatened tariffs on Colombia. Calling Petro “an illegal drug leader,” Trump announced Sunday the end of all U.S. aid to the South American country. Trump has also described the Colombian leftist president as a “lunatic” and “a thug,” and the country as a “drug den.”
The U.S. State Department revoked Petro’s visa last month over his comments during a pro-Palestinian rally in New York where he called on U.S. troops to disobey Trump’s orders. In an interview with Univision earlier this week, Petro suggested Americans should get rid of Trump, who he said is “not a king.”
The conflict intensified after U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean that Washington claims were transporting drugs. Petro has accused the U.S. of killing innocent Colombian fishermen and violating his country’s sovereignty.
The Treasury Department also accused Petro of having “allied himself with the narco-terrorist regime of Nicolas Maduro Moros and the Cartel de Los Soles” in Venezuela. U.S. prosecutors say Maduro and other top leaders of the Venezuelan regime run the drug-trafficking cartel. The Treasury statement also criticized Petro for sharing confidential anti-money laundering information in 2024, which led to Colombia’s suspension from The Egmont Group, an international financial intelligence organization.
The possibility of imposing individual sanctions on Petro was mentioned earlier this week by Republican Ohio U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, who was born in Colombia. Moreno said in media interviews that he had intervened in the conflict, trying to persuade Trump from following up on his threat to impose tariffs on Colombia.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 4:21 PM.