US sanctions Colombia president

The Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade, sharply escalating tensions with the leftist leader of one of the closest US allies in South America.

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The Treasury Department leveled the penalties against Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.

Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”

The move ramps up a growing clash between the Republican US president and Colombia's first leftist leader, notably over deadly American strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats off South America.

This week, the Trump administration expanded its crackdown to the eastern Pacific Ocean, where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers, including Colombia, is smuggled. And in an escalation of military firepower in the region, the US military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, the Pentagon announced Friday.