Washington — The Trump administration on Friday sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in addition to his spouse, son and a detailed affiliate, an escalation of the feud between President Trump and the person he has known as an “unlawful drug chief.”
The Treasury Division’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management introduced the sanctions on Petro and others, freezing their entry to U.S. property and blocking their means to conduct transactions with U.S. entities.
“Since President Gustavo Petro got here to energy, cocaine manufacturing in Colombia has exploded to the very best fee in a long time, flooding the US and poisoning People,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to cease this exercise. Immediately, President Trump is taking sturdy motion to guard our nation and clarify that we are going to not tolerate the trafficking of medication into our nation.”
State Division spokesperson Tommy Pigott mentioned the U.S. “won’t flip a blind eye to Petro’s appeasement and emboldening of narco-terrorists.”
“We’re dedicated to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and stopping lethal unlawful medicine from coming into our nation,” Pigott mentioned. “There should be no impunity for drug traffickers or acts of terrorism or violence by legal armed teams.”
Petro has criticized U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats within the Caribbean and jap Pacific Ocean, which have killed greater than 40 individuals. In response, Mr. Trump mentioned he would lower all overseas help to Colombia and threatened to hike tariffs.
In an announcement that was posted on X in Spanish and mechanically translated, Petro reacted to the sanctions, writing: “Preventing drug trafficking for many years … has introduced me this measure from the federal government of the society we helped a lot to curb their cocaine consumption. An entire paradox, however not a step again and by no means on our knees.”
In an unique dialog with CBS Information earlier this week, Petro claimed a few of these killed by the U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats have been harmless civilians, and he reiterated his accusation that the assaults violate worldwide legislation. The White Home has denied that harmless civilians had been killed within the boat strikes.
The Pentagon additionally mentioned Friday that the U.S. is sending an plane provider strike group to the waters off Latin America, an escalation that can dramatically improve the variety of service members and ships devoted to the Trump administration’s marketing campaign to counter narcotics traffickers.
