Riohacha, Colombia – The White House today announced financial sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his son and wife, and his close ally and Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti.
The president and members of his inner circle were added to the so-called ‘Clinton list’ of individuals and organizations sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The move effectively freezes all assets held in United States financial institutions and prohibits dealings with U.S. individuals and businesses.
The sanctions follow months of tensions between Bogotá and Washington, which came to a head over the weekend when Trump called his Colombian counterpart an “illegal drug dealer” and promised to cut all funds to the country. Analysts say today’s sanctions may signal that the White House only intends to punish Petro and his allies, not Colombia as a whole, over its rift with Bogotá.
Today’s announcement follows days of speculation over the Trump administration’s next move in its ongoing dispute with Petro. Relations between the countries reached a historic low last weekend after the two presidents clashed over Washington’s ongoing campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
After Petro accused the U.S. of violating its sovereignty and killing innocent fishermen in a boat strike, the White House said it would cut funding to Colombia and impose new tariffs, threatening the country’s security and economy.
But today’s sanctions only harm Petro and his inner circle: “This definitely hurts Petro much more than anyone else,” said Sergio Guzmán, Director of Colombia Risk Analysis.
The analyst added that including Petro and members of his inner circle to the Clinton list could prove to be the full extent of Trump’s backlash: “My view is that the damage is done, in terms of the US. They wanted to send a message. The message is clear.”
If the White House refrains from imposing broader sanctions on the country as a whole, it would fit a pattern of reluctance to punish Colombian institutions, which enjoy close historic ties with U.S. security agencies and senior Republicans. For example, when the U.S. decertified Colombia as a drug cooperation partner in September, it refrained from cutting military aid, instead laying the blame on Petro.
The White House has taken issue with Petro for allowing the proliferation of coca crops, which produce the raw ingredient used to make cocaine. According to the most recent United Nations Office on Drug and Crime report, potential cocaine production in Colombia increased 50% in 2023.
But following a petition by Petro, the UN admitted that its calculations of potential cocaine output are imperfect and do not necessarily reflect the reality of drug control in the nation.
Petro contends that demand in the U.S., the largest market for cocaine, is largely to blame for the trade. The White House has provided no evidence of the Colombian president’s involvement in drug trafficking.
“Effectively combatting drug trafficking for decades leads to this measure from the government of the society that we have given so much help to in stopping cocaine consumption,” wrote Petro on X in response to the sanctions.
He added that he had hired a lawyer to contest the move in U.S. courts.
Featured image: President Gustavo Petro at a cabinet meeting, October 22, 2025.
Image credit: @InfoPresidencia via X
This article was originally published on The Bogotá Post and has been reposted with permission.
