Washington: The United States has announced sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of allowing drug cartels to expand and failing to curb the flow of cocaine into the country.
In a statement, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said cocaine production in Colombia had surged to its highest level in decades under Petro’s administration. “Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” Bessent said.
“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 clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation,” he added.
Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to record high rates, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans. President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President Trump is… https://t.co/8ONvbFFPFr
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 24, 2025
The sanctions place Petro among a list of world leaders targeted by the United States for alleged misconduct, alongside Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The measures also extend to Petro’s wife, son, and Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, under laws that allow Washington to penalize individuals linked to the global illicit drug trade.
Esto que dice el Tesoro de EEUU es mentira. Los cultivos de hoja de coca crecieron fue en el gobierno de Duque hasta alcanzar 230.000 hectáreas, en mi gobierno después de tasas de crecimiento anual de 42% en 2024, he logrado disminuir esa tasas al 13%,en 2022,al 9% en 2023y al 3%… https://t.co/HDh5iY14S3
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 24, 2025
Responding to the move, Petro said the sanctions were unjust and ironic. In a post on X, he wrote that, “Fighting drug trafficking for decades, and effectively, has brought me this measure from the government of the very society we helped so much to stop their cocaine consumption. A complete paradox — but not one step back, and never on our knees.”
The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump threatened to impose higher tariffs on Colombia and confirmed that US funding to the country had been stopped.
