The Trump administration’s Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Francisco Petro, along with his wife, son and a close associate, accusing the group of being involved in the global illicit drug trade.

The action was taken under a Biden administration executive order targeting foreigners involved in the drug trade.

Petro joins a number of other world leaders under sanction by the Treasury, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and former president of Syria Bashar al-Assad.

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«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 wrote in a news release. «President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.»

Petro responded to the announcement on X, calling the sanction «a complete paradox.»

«Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat has come true; my children, my wife, and I have been added to the OFAC list,» Petro wrote in a post. «My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the USA. Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively has brought me this measure from the government of the society we helped so much to curb their cocaine consumption. A complete paradox, but not a step back and never on our knees.»

The Treasury accused Petro, his wife Veronica, eldest son Nicolás, and Minister of Interior Armando Benedetti of being involved in narcotics trafficking and narcoterrorism, which it said is continuing to fuel violence, corruption and instability in Colombia, while also «posing significant challenges to regional and international security.»

«Colombia remains the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine,» officials wrote in a statement. «Cocaine from Colombia is often purchased by Mexican cartels, who then smuggle it into the United States via the southern border. It is a scheduled substance that is a significant drug threat to the United States, despite Gustavo Petro’s recent, flippant comparison of the use of the drug to whiskey.»

Petro, a former guerrilla member, was elected to the Colombian presidency in 2022.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said he has hired an American attorney. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

The department accused him of providing narco-terrorist organizations with benefits under the auspices of his «total peace» plan, among other policies, which officials said have led to record highs in coca cultivation and cocaine production.

The Treasury also alleged Petro has allied himself with Maduro, who is also under U.S. sanction, and the Cartel de Los Soles.

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«Gustavo Petro’s erratic behavior has also driven Colombia further apart from its partners in additional ways,» officials wrote. «In 2024, he shared confidential information obtained via secure anti-money laundering communication channels, threatening the integrity of the international financial system and leading to the suspension of Colombia’s Financial Intelligence Unit from The Egmont Group.»

Petro’s son and political heir, Nicolás, was charged in 2023 with money laundering and illicit enrichment over allegations that he funneled money received from drug traffickers into his father’s «total peace» efforts and election campaign.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro was sanctioned along with his family and an associate. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

He later admitted to receiving dirty money from a person formerly involved in narcotics trafficking and son of a contractor on trial for financing paramilitaries, according to officials.

President Donald Trump determined Columbia was a major drug transit or major illicit drug producing country on Sept. 15, finding it is «failing demonstrably» to uphold its drug control responsibilities.

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Property and assets belonging to those sanctioned, that are in the U.S. or controlled by people in the U.S., are frozen and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned 50% or more by those sanctioned are also frozen, and U.S. citizens are generally prohibited from related transactions.

Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties, with OFAC able to impose civil penalties on a strict liability basis.

Principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott added Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not certify Colombia under the criteria of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, as carried forward by the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025.

«The United States will not turn a blind eye to Petro’s appeasement and emboldening of narco-terrorists,» Pigott wrote in a statement. «We are committed to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and preventing deadly illegal drugs from entering our country. There must be no impunity for drug traffickers or acts of terrorism or violence by criminal armed groups.»

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«We remain steadfast in our support for Colombian security forces, its justice sector, and departmental and municipal officials, and we will continue to partner with them in our joint efforts to combat drug trafficking,» he added. «Today’s decision is not a reflection on these institutions but rather the failures and incompetence of Gustavo Petro and his inner circle.»

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, reacted to the announcement on X, saying «FAFO,» an acronym which stands for f— around and find out.

El Pentágono anunció este viernes el despliegue de un portaaviones y su flotilla acompañante para “contrarrestar el narcoterrorismo” en América Latina.

Estados Unidos movilizó en agosto destructores, un submarino y barcos con fuerzas especiales en aguas internacionales del Caribe sur, cerca de las costas de Venezuela, con el supuesto propósito de combatir el tráfico de drogas.

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Aunque ha habido regularmente presencia de portaaviones para ejercicios de entrenamiento con fuerzas de países vecinos, es la primera vez que Estados Unidos despliega una fuerza de esta magnitud en América Latina contra el narcotráfico.

El despliegue del grupo de ataque del portaaviones USS Gerald R. Ford se produce “en apoyo a la directiva del presidente de desmantelar las Organizaciones Criminales Transnacionales (TCOs) y contrarrestar el narcoterrorismo en defensa de la Patria”, dijo en X el portavoz del Pentágono, Sean Parnell.

En tanto, el comunicado del Pentágono no indica la fecha en que llegará el portaaviones a la región. El USS Ford, que tiene cinco destructores en su grupo de ataque, está desplegado actualmente en el mar Mediterráneo.

Una persona familiarizada con la operación dijo a la agencia AP que uno de esos destructores está en el mar Arábigo y otro en el mar Rojo. En el momento del anuncio, el portaaviones estaba en un puerto de Croacia, en el mar Adriático.

La persona, que declaró bajo condición de anonimato para hablar de operaciones militares sensibles, no quiso decir cuánto tiempo tomaría para que el grupo de ataque llegue a las aguas frente a Venezuela o si los cinco destructores harían el viaje.

Horas antes de este anuncio, el secretario de Guerra, Pete Hegseth, informó vía X el décimo ataque contra una presunta narcolancha, con un balance de seis muertos.

En la noche del jueves, el Departamento de Guerra de Estados Unidos lanzó el décimo ataque contra una presunta narcolancha que navegaba frente a las costas de Venezuela. (Video: secretario de Defensa Pete Hegseth X @SecWar)

Al menos 43 personas han muerto en el Caribe y en el Pacífico desde que Estados Unidos inició su actual campaña sin precedentes de ataques letales mediante misiles en la región, el 2 de septiembre.

La embarcación destruida en la noche del jueves al viernes operaba para el cártel Tren de Aragua, aseguró el secretario en la red X. “Nuestros servicios de inteligencia sabían que la embarcación estaba involucrada en el contrabando de narcóticos”, agregó, y dijo que el ataque tuvo lugar en “aguas internacionales”.

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Este fue el primer ataque nocturno en la zona, explicó Hegseth, que acompañó su mensaje con un video en blanco y negro en el que se ve una lancha que circula a velocidad normal, hasta que explota.

El jefe del Pentágono advirtió que Estados Unidos tratará a los “narcoterroristas” como ha tratado a la organización terrorista “Al Qaeda” de Osama bin Laden.

Petro acusó a EE.UU. de cometer “ejecuciones extrajudiciales”

Estados Unidos está cometiendo “ejecuciones extrajudiciales”, afirmó el jueves el presidente colombiano, Gustavo Petro, que mantiene un pulso particular con el inquilino de la Casa Blanca, Donald Trump.

El líder republicano avisó al inicio de su actual mandato que estaba dispuesto a utilizar todo el potencial militar estadounidense para acabar con las rutas del narcotráfico y con los cárteles.

Para ello, declaró a los cárteles como el de Sinaloa o Tren de Aragua “organizaciones terroristas”, mediante decreto presidencial.

Esto permitiría a Washington, según el gobierno, utilizar las mismas herramientas que usó durante dos décadas en todo el mundo tras los ataques del 11 de septiembre de 2001 de Al Qaeda.

Estados Unidos está en “conflicto armado” con los cárteles de la droga, explicó Trump en una carta enviada al Congreso. Además, asegura que el tráfico marítimo de droga prácticamente ha sido erradicado. Sin embargo, el ritmo de los ataques con misiles contra las embarcaciones se ha incrementado.

Al mismo tiempo, el presidente evoca de manera creciente que está dispuesto a emprenderla contra los intereses “narcoterroristas” en tierra firme, sin aclarar dónde.

El jueves, Washington anunció junto a Trinidad y Tobago ejercicios militares conjuntos frente a las costas de Venezuela con el buque de guerra USS Gravely. El gobierno del país caribeño decidió brindar “categóricamente su claro apoyo a la intervención militar en curso”.

“Incendiar” América del Sur

Venezuela movilizó tropas y milicias ante la amenaza estadounidense.

Nicolás Maduro, acusado por el gobierno estadounidense y encausado oficialmente ante un tribunal en Nueva York por supuestamente encabezar el denominado cártel de los Soles, sostiene que la verdadera intención de Washington es promover un cambio de régimen en su país.

En este contexto, Celso Amorim -asesor especial del presidente brasileño, Lula da Silva- sentenció que una “intervención externa” en Venezuela “puede incendiar” América del Sur, durante una entrevista con la AFP.

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“No podemos aceptar una intervención externa porque eso va a crear un resentimiento inmenso”, agregó Amorim.

Trump llegó a confirmar que la CIA podría llevar a cabo operaciones encubiertas dentro de Venezuela.

La oposición demócrata en el Congreso estadounidense también exigió explicaciones, ya que la Constitución establece que el Congreso debe autorizar expresamente una declaración de guerra.

Ante esta situación, Trump declaró que está dispuesto a enviar a Hegseth ante el Congreso para dar explicaciones antes de pasar a una nueva fase en tierra.

Con información de AP y AFP.

Britain’s immigration system is under fire after officials confirmed an Ethiopian asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and another woman was accidentally released from prison Friday, sparking a manhunt for the fugitive sex offender.

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was sentenced in September to 12 months behind bars, Reuters reported.

An «appalled» British Prime Minister Keir Starmer slammed the release of Kebatu, calling it «totally unacceptable,» according to The Associated Press.

His arrest in July ignited weeks of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, a migrant housing site about 20 miles north of London, according to the report.

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At its peak in 2023, the home secretary said more than 400 hotels were being used to house asylum seekers, costing nearly £9 million GBP per day, or roughly $11.3 million.

«We share the view of communities nationwide that these hotels must close — including the Bell Hotel in Epping,» U.K. Foreign Secretary and Labour MP Yvette Cooper wrote in a previous statement. «We are moving to do so as quickly as possible through a structured and sustainable plan, rather than through one-off court rulings that create more problems for other local areas or councils. 

«Such piecemeal decisions risk repeating the chaos that led to the large-scale use of hotels in the first place.»

Officials said Kebatu was supposed to be transferred to an immigration detention center for deportation but was mistakenly freed, according to the report.

People protest outside Epping Forest District Council after the British government won a court ruling resulting in asylum seekers not being evicted from The Bell Hotel in Epping, Britain.  (Reuters/Jack Taylor)

Britain’s Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy wrote in an X post he was «appalled at the release in error at HMP Chelmsford.»

«We are urgently working with the police to track him down, and I’ve ordered an urgent investigation,» Lammy wrote. «Kebatu must be deported for his crimes, not on our streets.»

Kemi Badenoch, a conservative member of Parliament for North West Essex, also made a fiery post, saying the «entire system is collapsing under Labour.»

«The fake asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a child in Epping has been ‘released in error,’» Badenoch wrote. «How does that happen? Because the entire system is collapsing under Labour. Govt mistakenly letting people out instead of deporting. Those they deported are coming back. Nothing of substance has been done to address the threat to women and girls living in these communities.»

Protesters react next to police during a protest near Epping Forest District Council after the British government won a court ruling resulting in asylum seekers not being evicted from The Bell Hotel in Epping, Britain, in August. (Reuters/Jack Taylor)

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Badenoch said conservatives voted against Labour’s prisoner release program because it was «putting predators back on our streets,» but she pointed out Kebatu was just convicted.

«A level of incompetence that beggars belief,» she wrote. «Only Conservatives have a plan for stronger borders and public order.»

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Nigel Farage, a member of Parliament for Clacton and the leader of Reform UK, added on X, «The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported. He is now walking the streets of Essex. Britain is broken.»