The US has placed sanctions on Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, accusing him of failing to curb drug trafficking.
President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Colombia's Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, as well as Petro's wife and eldest son. They include barring them from accessing assets and properties they may have in the US.
Colombia was once a close ally of Washington's war on drugs, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually in military assistance. However, Petro and Trump have clashed frequently since Trump's return to power.
Bessent stated that since Petro, a former guerrilla, came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans. He added that Trump was taking strong action and would not tolerate drug trafficking into the US.
The Treasury said Colombia was the world's top exporter of cocaine, which it says poses a significant drug threat to the US. In a separate statement, the state department said it will not certify Colombia's counter-narcotics efforts.
Petro denied the accusations, asserting on X that he had fought drug trafficking for decades and contributed to reducing cocaine consumption in the US. In recent weeks, the US military has increased activity in the southern Caribbean, targeting vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking.
Last week, Trump announced the suspension of payments and subsidies to Colombia. This decision followed Petro's characterization of US airstrikes on alleged drug vessels as an act of tyranny, accusing US officials of violating Colombian sovereignty.
Imposing sanctions on a head of state is rare but not unprecedented, with leaders from countries such as Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela previously facing similar actions.
