'
The US imposes sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro as the feud escalates
International

The US imposes sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro as the feud escalates

author
3 minutes, 36 seconds Read

The United States has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro after US President Donald Trump sharply escalated a feud with the country’s longtime Latin American ally over allegations that Petro has refused to stem the flow of cocaine into the US.
Tensions between the US and many countries in the region have been rising for weeks. The US military has increased activities in the southern Caribbean. attacking ships in international waters which she claims without evidence are in possession of drugs.
Trump this week called Petro an “illegal drug leader” after the left-wing president accused the US of committing “murder” and said the US shot at a boat off the coast of Venezuela that belonged to a “humble family”, not a rebel group.
“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded at the fastest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement Saturday morning AEDT.

“President 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 it clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking into our nation.”

Colombia’s president and interior minister hit back

The sanctions prompted a defiant response from Petro.

“Effectively combating drug trafficking for decades has earned me this measure from the government of the society for whom we have helped so many to stop their cocaine use,” the Colombian president said in a message on X.

“A complete paradox – but no step back, and never on our knees.”
Although rare, the imposition of sanctions on a head of state is not unprecedented.
The move adds Petro to a shortlist that includes the leaders of Russia, Venezuela and North Korea.
Tensions have also risen recently between the US and Venezuela, whose government has long accused the US of harboring drug traffickers and undermining democratic institutions.
Trump deployed an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean on Saturday as part of the US military build-up in the area, including eight additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft.
Petro’s wife and son, as well as Armando Benedetti, Colombia’s interior minister, were also hit by sanctions under the authority that allows the US to target those it accuses of being involved in the global illegal drug trade.
About
“For the US, a non-violent declaration is like being a drug trafficker. Gringos are going home,” Benedetti added.

The sanctions action freezes all U.S. assets of the targets and generally deters Americans from dealing with them.

“President Trump has made it clear that President Petro had better close these killing fields immediately or the United States will close them for him, and that will not be done gracefully,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

Sanctions are the latest in a series of clashes

Trump and Petro have clashed several times since the Republican US president took office in January, including in an escalating feud over US military attacks on ships allegedly carrying drugs.
Last weekend, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Colombia and said this week that all funding to the country had been halted.
In a separate statement on Friday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not certify Colombia’s counter-narcotics efforts.

Last month, the US revoked Petro’s visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged American soldiers to defy Trump’s orders.

Petro also had disagreements with Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, at times criticizing the U.S. for policies he considered overly harsh on drug-producing countries and for not taking enough responsibility for handling U.S. demand for illegal narcotics.
But Petro and Biden looked for ways to maintain cooperation on drug enforcement and also shared common views on issues such as climate change and migration.
Petro has promised to tame Colombia’s coca-growing areas with massive social and military interventions, but the strategy has yielded little success.
On Tuesday, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said Petro’s government has seized more cocaine than previous administrations and that coca leaf crop growth has slowed every year since 2021.
During a meeting with U.S. diplomats in Colombia, Petro reiterated “the interest of the United States to base its assessments on accurate data on Colombia’s war on drugs,” the ministry said.

#imposes #sanctions #Colombian #President #Gustavo #Petro #feud #escalates

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *