Washington: The United States announced yesterday, Friday, the imposition of sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of refusing to combat drug trafficking. The sanctions also included the Colombian president’s wife, his son, and the Colombian Minister of the Interior.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, in response to the American accusations and sanctions, the Colombian president said in a post on the X platform: “I have strived to combat drug trafficking for decades, and I have spent decades effectively fighting drug trafficking, which is what brought me this punishment from the government of the very society that we have helped so much in reducing cocaine consumption.”

These sanctions come amidst a growing dispute between the Colombian and American presidents. Gustavo Petro had previously accused President Trump of carrying out “extrajudicial killings” by targeting ten boats with the American military, killing at least 43 people in less than two months. Washington claims these boats were used for drug trafficking.

Colombia demanded that Washington stop these attacks, which angered Trump, who described Petro as a “drug trafficker,” announcing the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid to Colombia and threatening to impose customs duties on Colombian goods.