‘We are not anyone’s colony’, says Petro after US sanctions

Petro says that Republican Senator Bernie Moreno’s “threat” was fulfilled. The sanction against the Colombian is for having engaged or attempted to engage in activities that pose a risk to the international proliferation of illicit drugs, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The President also criticized the United States. According to Petro, the measure was taken even after Colombia had carried out an “effective fight against drug trafficking for decades” and collaborated to end the use of cocaine in North American society.

Treasury Secretary says Petro allowed drug cartels to prosper and did not stop this activity. Scott Bessent declared that drug production in Colombia had the fastest pace in decades after Petro took over the country, causing the substances to flood into the US.

Treasury claims that Colombian cocaine is purchased by Mexican cartels, which smuggle the substances to the US. In a statement, the department accuses Petro of siding with the “narco-terrorist regime of Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela) and the Los Soles Cartel.”

The US says that sanctions on Nicolás and Verônica are due to the duo having or trying to provide some type of support in support of Petro. The fourth sanctioned is Armando Benedetti, appointed to several high-ranking positions in the Colombian government.

The US action adds Petro to a list of world leaders under US sanctions. Also on the list are Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.