President Gustavo Petro referred this Friday to his inclusion and that of his family on the Clinton list, a decision adopted by the United States government.
(Read: The US officially includes President Gustavo Petro on the Clinton List).
In a message on his X account, the Colombian head of state also announced that his defense will be assumed in the United States by Dany Kovalik.
“Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat was fulfilled, I and my children and my wife entered the OFAC list. My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the US. Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively brings me this measure of the government of the society that we help so much to stop their cocaine consumption. Quite a paradox, but not a step back and never on our knees”wrote Petro.
Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat was fulfilled, I and my children and my wife entered the OFAC list.
My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the USA.
Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively brings me this measure of the government of society that…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 24, 2025
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against the president, his wife and one of his children, as well as against Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, his right-hand man.
(See: Eduardo Montealegre presented ‘irrevocable’ resignation as Minister of Justice).
Petro was accused on Sunday by Trump, who has not presented evidence, of being a “drug trafficking leader” and announced the end of economic aid to Colombia in retaliation for the high level of drug production.
This Friday’s sanctions also involve the president’s wife, Verónica Alcocer, and his eldest son Nicolás Petro, who is in the middle of a criminal trial for allegedly receiving $100.00 from a former drug trafficker who paid a sentence in the United States for his father’s 2022 campaign.
The president’s first-born son assures that the money did not reach the campaign finances. Benedetti, the official closest to Petro and one of his greatest allies during the presidential campaign, was also sanctioned. Benedetti, former ambassador to Venezuela and to the FAO in Rome, referred to the United States as a “empire” “unjust”whose anti-drug fight is “an arms farce”.
(Also: Ten questions and answers to understand the Constituent Assembly proposed by Petro).
“For the United States, a non-violent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker. Gringos go home,” added the Minister of the Interior.
Petro opposes Washington’s attacks against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which have so far left around forty dead.
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