The U.S. Government moved aggressively against Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his inner circle on Friday, imposing sanctions that target his financial and political support network as relations between Washington and Bogotá struck a new low.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), also known as the Clinton List, designated Petro, First Lady Verónica Alcocer, their son Nicolás Petro, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti under U.S. counternarcotics authorities. It is the first time a sitting Colombian president has been named under such measures.
In its statement, the U.S Treasury accused Petro of presiding over a “disastrous and ineffective” drug policy that has fueled a sharp rise in cocaine production, reversing years of bilateral cooperation in anti-narcotics operations.
“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”
The sanctions, enacted under Executive Order 14059, block any property or financial interests of Petro and the three individuals under U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibit American entities or citizens from conducting transactions with them.
According to OFAC, Colombia remains the world’s leading producer and exporter of cocaine, with most shipments acquired by Mexican cartels before being smuggled into the United States through the southern border.
The Treasury also cited Petro’s controversial remarks comparing cocaine consumption to whiskey and accused him of granting concessions to narco-terrorist groups under his “total peace” agenda — policy aimed at negotiating with criminal and guerrilla organizations to end decades of internal conflict.
The press release also claims that in 2024 Petro’s government endangered international financial cooperation by leaking information from confidential anti–money-laundering channels, prompting Colombia’s suspension from the Egmont Group — an international network of financial intelligence units. Petro was also accused of strengthening ties with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the so-called Cartel de los Soles.
The designation extends to a key member of Petro’s family. His eldest son, Nicolás Petro, who was arrested in 2023 on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment, is accused of channeling funds from drug traffickers into his father’s campaign and peace initiatives. Nicolás Petro has admitted to receiving money from individuals with links to narcotics trafficking.
First Lady Verónica Alcocer was cited for having been “unconstitutionally” appointed by her husband to a diplomatic mission, later annulled by a Colombian court as a violation of Article 126 of the Constitution.
Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, Petro’s first Ambassador to Venezuela and one of his closest allies, was implicated over leaked audio recordings from 2023 in which he allegedly discussed illicit campaign financing. OFAC said Benedetti “provided or attempted to provide financial and material support” to Petro.
Benedetti reacted to the news by posting on “X” the following message: “For having defended the dignity of the country and stated that the president Gustavo Petro is not a drug trafficker, they put me on the OFAC list without me having attacked them (…) For the U.S., a non-violent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker. Gringos go home.”
Under U.S. law, all assets or properties linked to the four individuals within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. The sanctions also extend to any companies in which they hold a controlling interest. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties for American or foreign persons.
The Treasury’s unprecedented move against a sitting Colombian head of state sends a direct message to the Casa de Nariño, where other close aides to the president could also see their assets frozen in the United States.
Since his election in 2022 as Colombia’s first leftist president, the former M-19 guerrilla has frequently slammed the U.S.-led “war on drugs” as a failure.
In September, the State Department revoked Petro’s U.S. visa after he urged “U.S. soldiers to disobey orders” from President Trump during remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. That same month, the White House moved to decertify Colombia as a partner in anti-drug efforts. The decertification was largely symbolic, as Colombia received a “national interest” waiver allowing aid and cooperation to continue.
But that changed on Sunday, October 19, when President Trump declared on Truth Social that Petro is an “illegal drug leader” who encourages “the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields all over Colombia.” Trump went on to announce that “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.”
On the same day the OFAC sanctioned for the first time a Colombian President, Petro rallied his political base to Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar. The embattled president, who is looking to overhaul the 1991 Constitution with a ‘Popular Constituent Assembly”, said he will fight the Treasury’s decision by retaining Dan Kovalik as his attorney. Kovalik is an American human rights and labor lawyer with close ties to Venezuela’s Bolivarian regime. According to Ukraine Crisis, Kovalik has made several visits to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular, Crimea. “Based on his trips, he actively spreads the “alternative truth” supported by Russia,” affirms the media center.
