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 referred to as an “unlawful drug chief.”
The Treasury Division’s Workplace of Overseas Belongings Management introduced the sanctions on Petro and others, freezing their entry to U.S. property and blocking their potential to conduct transactions with U.S. entities.
“Since President Gustavo Petro got here to energy, cocaine manufacturing in Colombia has exploded to the best charge in a long time, flooding the USA and poisoning People,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to cease this exercise. At the moment, President Trump is taking robust motion to guard our nation and clarify that we are going to not tolerate the trafficking of medicine into our nation.”
State Division spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated 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 getting into our nation,” Pigott stated. “There should be no impunity for drug traffickers or acts of terrorism or violence by felony 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 folks. In response, Mr. Trump stated he would reduce all overseas support to Colombia and threatened to hike tariffs.
In a press release that was posted on X in Spanish and robotically 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 regulation. The White Home has denied that harmless civilians had been killed within the boat strikes.
The Pentagon additionally stated Friday that the U.S. is sending an plane service 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.
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