The US Treasury Department accused President Gustavo Petro of allowing “drug cartels to flourish and has refused to stop this activity.” The Colombian president responded to the sanctions and described them as a “paradox” for his fight against drug trafficking
The United States Treasury Department imposed 24 financial sanctions this Friday on the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, whom the US president, Donald Trump, accused of being a “drug trafficking leader.”
Along with the Colombian president, his wife, Verónica Alcocer, was also sanctioned; his eldest son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, currently under investigation by the justice system; and the Minister of the Interior of that country, Armando Benedetti.
“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has skyrocketed to its highest level in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to a report. press release where the measure was announced.
They reaffirmed that Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and has refused to stop this activity. “Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate drug trafficking in our country.”
*Read also: Colombia asks the US to stop attacks on “drug boats” and respect international law
The Treasury Department also accused Petro of “erratic behavior” that has distanced Colombia from its partners, and of sharing confidential information “obtained through secure communication channels against money laundering, which endangered the integrity of the international financial system and caused the suspension of the Colombian Financial Intelligence Unit of the Egmont Group.”
Likewise, he is accused of being allied with the “narcoterrorist regime” of Nicolás Maduro and the so-called Los Soles Cartel, which the US designated as a terrorist organization.
Petro called the sanctions a “paradox” and attributed it to his fight against drug trafficking. “Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively brings me this measure from the government of society that we help so much to stop their cocaine consumption,” Petro wrote on the social network
OFAC noted that all assets of designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US citizens are blocked and must be reported to this office. Additionally, any entity that is owned, directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, 50% or more, by one or more blocked persons is also blocked.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
Post Views: 601
