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By Eman Abusidu / Middle East Monitor
The United States government, under President Donald Trump, has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of failing to curb drug trafficking. The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions on October 24, 2025, under Executive Order 14059, which targets individuals linked to narcotics operations. The order freezes any US-based assets belonging to Petro and prohibits American citizens and companies from engaging in financial transactions with him or his administration.
According to the Treasury statement, Petro’s government “has tolerated the expansion of criminal organisations” and “failed to cooperate with international anti-narcotics efforts.”
The Colombian leader has rejected the allegations, calling them politically motivated and a punishment for his outspoken support of Gaza and Palestine. In a televised address, President Gustavo Petro described the US sanctions as “a smokescreen to hide a political decision,” accusing Washington of using drug-trafficking claims as a convenient pretext to punish Colombia for taking an independent stance on global issues, particularly his defense of Gaza and the Palestinian people. However, Washington has not commented on Petro’s accusations related to the issue.
“They claim it’s about drugs, but everyone knows the truth, this is because I stood with Gaza,” Petro declared during his speech. “They can sanction me, but they can’t silence Colombia’s conscience.”
Following the president’s remarks, the Colombian presidency released an official statement calling the sanctions “an act of political pressure.” The government reiterated that Colombia would not compromise its principles on human rights or adjust its foreign policy “to satisfy Washington.” According to the statement, Bogotá remains committed to pursuing an independent international agenda grounded in justice, sovereignty, and solidarity with oppressed peoples worldwide.
No puedo creer que @realDonaldTrump diga esto 😱: “@petrogustavo Es un matón, está fabricando muchas drogas. Tienen fábricas de cocaína. Será mejor que tenga cuidado o tomaremos medidas muy serias contra él y su país". Estamos todos locos pic.twitter.com/WCgRl6GrHt
— Carlos Montero (@CMonteroOficial) October 22, 2025
The Colombian expert on Middle East affairs, Victor de Currea-Lugo, emphasised that “Gaza is a point that has divided humanity among those who are with the occupier and those who are with the occupied.” According to him, “President Petro has only marked a voice, but, if they allow me, has become the main voice.” In the Arab world and across many Muslim communities, Petro’s popularity has grown because of his strong stance against the United States’ position on Gaza.
De Currea-Lugo pointed out that “the popularity of Petro, in the Arab world and in other Muslim countries, shows the importance of his speech against the United States,” and even in “the streets of New York, his voice becomes more important and more influential.”
De Currea-Lugo also argued that the US response to Petro’s defense of Gaza has been punitive, reflecting a pattern of political retaliation. As he explained, “they cannot accuse them of defending the bombarded, then they accuse them of drug trafficking.” He sees this as a broader strategy to discredit and silence leaders from the Global South who challenge dominant narratives about the conflict. For Petro, this means his moral and political defence of Gaza is being weaponised against him, exposing what De Currea-Lugo calls “the hypocrisy of the international community” when faced with those who refuse to align with Western geopolitical interests.
Furthermore, the expert insisted that “Gaza has shown the failure of the international system.” He noted that the crisis “starts with the dynamics of the United Nations, which has never acted,” and that it also reveals “the incapacity of the academy that is in its glass tower giving lessons to the world, and of the media, which clearly showed its propaganda side and not its journalistic one.”
According to De Currea-Lugo, these failures demonstrate not only the need to “re-establish the entire United Nations” but also to confront “the problem of multilateralism and the disrespect for international law. Gaza has not created these injustices, but rather has evidenced dynamics that have been happening for decades.”
President Gustavo Petro has emerged as one of the most outspoken defenders of Palestine in Latin America, making the issue a defining element of his foreign policy. During his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, Petro delivered one of his most forceful statements yet, declaring: “Humanity must stop the genocide in Gaza. Silence makes us complicit.”
The president’s solidarity with Gaza predates that speech. In 2024, his administration made a historic move by cutting diplomatic ties with Israel after renewed military attacks on the enclave. Colombia also began sending humanitarian aid shipments to support civilians trapped under siege, emphasizing the country’s commitment to a rights-based approach in foreign policy.
Petro has consistently argued that Latin America “cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people,” framing his position as a moral obligation rather than a geopolitical calculation.
International observers note that the United States rarely sanctions sitting democratic leaders, suggesting that this case is as political as it is legal. According to The Colombian expert on Middle East affairs, Victor de Currea-Lugo, it is unusual for the United States to impose sanctions on its allies, but Colombia is moving further away from traditional alignment by pursuing a multilateral foreign policy.
By opening markets to other regions and taking independent stances on global conflicts, Colombia has diverged from U.S. positions on issues such as Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan. De Currea-Lugo observed, “Empires don’t have friends, only allies. Well, I would say they don’t have allies, only vassals. And the problem is that President Petro and Colombia refuse to behave like vassals.”
He further argued that “the sanctions could be seen as legally questionable. Unlike past cases under the Clinton administration, which relied on proven evidence of drug trafficking, the current action violates the presumption of innocence, due process, and feels more like political retaliation than an economic measure.” According to De Currea-Lugo, if any Colombian president has actively fought against drug trafficking, it is President Petro, supported by official figures showing the significant amounts of narcotics seized by law enforcement during his administration.
De Currea-Lugo also stated that the Trump administration’s approach is particularly “erratic and arbitrary,” affecting even some of its closest allies in the region. However, leaders like Claudia in Mexico, Lula in Brazil, Boric in Chile, and Petro in Colombia represent voices of dignity and multilateralism, challenging the vertical, controlling policies historically imposed by the United States. He emphasised that this is not a shift in Latin America as a whole, but rather a reflection of certain governments asserting independence in foreign and economic policy.
Colombia está fuera de control… De Trump..porque en una democracia quien controla un gobierno no es un presidente extranjero sino el propio pueblo que eligió al presidente pic.twitter.com/P0zWSvuKkQ
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 21, 2025
Analysts in Bogotá argue that the move reflects a deepening rift between Washington and Latin American governments pursuing independent foreign policies and could freeze joint programs on counter-narcotics, security cooperation, and trade.
The Petro administration is considering appeals through the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Human Rights Council, citing evidence of geopolitical double standards, in which support for Gaza carries diplomatic consequences.
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