US sanctions Colombian President Petro

The United States has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Washington confirmed the information on Friday (October 24). The US administration said that Gustavo has failed to combat the illegal drug trade.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in a statement that "since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has increased at the highest rate in decades, which has caused great harm to the United States."

Besant accused Petro of allowing drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. The US Treasury Secretary added, “Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make it clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking in our country.”

In addition to Petro, the United States has blacklisted his eldest son, Nicolás Fernando Petro Burgos, his wife Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.

The State Department had previously revoked Petro’s visa at the end of the September UN General Assembly session due to comments he made at a rally in support of the Palestinians.

After announcing the sanctions, the State Department said it would not recognize Colombia as a partner in counternarcotics efforts. “The United States will not turn a blind eye to Petro’s encouragement of narco-terrorists. We are committed to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and to preventing the entry of deadly illegal drugs into our country,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.