The economic sanctions that the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) imposed this Friday (24) on the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia, his eldest son and a minister in his government are having major repercussions in the South American country.
In a statement, the Trump administration ministry claimed that it took the measure because Petro allowed drug cartels to “flourish” and “refused to stop their activities.”
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“Just because I’m Gustavo Petro’s son, they unfairly put me on the Clinton List [apelido da lista de alvos de sanções do Ofac]. It is an unprecedented political and judicial persecution. I will turn to international organizations to defend my rights”, wrote Petro Burgos.
On the same social network, Armando Benedetti, Minister of the Interior who was also the target of Ofac sanctions, wrote “Gringos, go home” (“Gringos, go home” in English).
“Because I defended the country’s dignity and that President Gustavo Petro is not a drug trafficker, they put me on the Ofac list without me having attacked them. This demonstrates that every empire is unfair and that their fight against drugs is an arms farce. In this country, no one believes the story that I am a drug trafficker. I have never entered the home of a single drug trafficker. For the USA, a non-violent declaration is the same as being a drug trafficker. drugs”, he stated, in reference to the criticism that the Colombian government has made of the American operation against cartels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Earlier, Petro himself wrote in X that he will appeal to the American courts. “My defense lawyer will be Dany Kovalik, from the United States. Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively brings me this measure from the government of society that we helped so much to stop their cocaine consumption [em referência aos EUA]. A great paradox, but I will not back down and I will never kneel,” he wrote.
On the other hand, Petro’s opponents celebrated the economic sanctions against the Colombian president and called for the accusations made by Ofac to be investigated.
Daniel F. Briceño, a Bogotá councilor who filed more than 400 complaints against the Petro government, wrote in X that “Mr. Gustavo Petro is a national and international shame.”
María Fernanda Cabal, opposition senator, said that “making deals with criminals, not cracking down on drug trafficking and avoiding extraditions have consequences.”
“It is urgent that the USA reveal the evidence against Gustavo Petro, who has now been included on the Clinton List, with his family and his friend Benedetti. Was there drug money in his election?”, stated the parliamentarian.
