Colombian President Gustavo Petro holds the flag of Liberator SimĂłn BolĂvar's independence army at a public event, October 2025. Photo: Presidency of Colombia.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the sanctions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on himself, his wife Verónica Alcocer, his son Nicolás Fernando Petro, and Minister of the Interior Armando Benedetti.
In a social media post on Friday, October 24, Petro reported, “My children, my wife, and I have been added to the OFAC list. My lawyer for my defense will be Dany [Daniel] Kovalik from the US.”
“Fighting drug trafficking effectively for decades brings me this measure from the government of the society that we helped so much to stop its cocaine consumption. It is quite a paradox, but we will not take a single step back and will never be on our knees,” Petro wrote.
Efectivamente la amenaza de Bernie Moreno se cumpliĂł, yo y mis hijos y mi esposa entramos a la lista OFAC.
Mi abogado en mi defensa será Dany Kovalik de los EEUU.
Luchar contra el narcotráfico durante décadas y con eficacia me trae está medida del gobierno de la sociedad que…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 24, 2025
On Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom US President Donald Trump accused of being a “drug-trafficking leader.” In addition, sanctions were imposed on Petro’s wife, son, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.
According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, President Petro “is promoting cocaine production” in Colombia and “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
In its press release, the OFAC claimed that Petro “has provided narco-terrorist organizations with benefits under the auspices of his ‘total peace’ plan, among other policies, which have led to record highs of coca cultivation and cocaine production.” The statement misrepresents the Colombian government’s efforts to reintegrate members of armed organizations into society through welfare programs and bring about an end to the violence that the country has been suffering for decades.
Due to the Colombian president’s support for Venezuela amid US invasion threats, the OFAC also accused him of having allied himself with the “narco-terrorist regime of Nicolás Maduro Moros and the Cartel de los Soles,” a drug-trafficking organization that does not exist and the US claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last week, Trump accused the Colombian president of being a “drug-trafficking leader” and suspended financial aid to Colombia, a country that was removed from the US list of nations cooperating in the fight against drug trafficking in September.
In this regard, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on October 19 that US President Donald Trump “is mistaken” in considering him a “drug-trafficking leader,” as throughout his political career, he has consistently combated drug cartels.
“Trump is being deceived by his lodges and advisors. The main enemy that drug trafficking has in Colombia in the 21st century is the one who exposed its ties to Colombia’s political power. That is me. I recommend that Trump read up on Colombia and determine where the drug traffickers are and where the democrats are,” Petro wrote on X after Trump announced the cutting of financial aid to Colombia for its alleged inaction in the fight against drug trafficking.
(Últimas Noticias) by Carlos Eduardo Sánchez, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
