Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in an interview with El País that the refusal of the Donald Trump administration to review its policy towards Latin America would lead to a “rebellion“ in the region.
Petro pointed to the “double standards” of the United States and methods of pressure “comparable to the historical Spanish expansion”.
“When I was added to the OFAC list, I realized that this tool to combat drug trafficking had become political. It is used as a mechanism for blackmail against those who express different policies,” Petro said.
OFAC is the agency within the US Treasury Department responsible for controlling foreign assets. It imposes and enforces economic and trade sanctions for national security and foreign policy purposes.
According to the Colombian president, Washington uses blacklists and sanctions to put pressure on undesirable governments, threatening countries with economic isolation and even military intervention, similar to the Venezuelan scenario.
“This is a system similar to the one that the Spanish king had centuries ago. And what was the reaction of Latin America? Rebellion. That is exactly what will happen now if the US government fails to rethink its relations with Latin America,” the Colombian leader warned.
He called the bombing of Caracas in early 2026 a"historical trauma" for the entire continent: “Caracas was the first Latin American city to be bombed in history; not even Panama was bombed. That inflicted a wound that the current rulers perceive with fear and bow their knees to.“
Petro said that relations with Trump remained “good“ despite past tensions. “I have no intention of attacking the United States and Trump does not seem to have any intention of causing problems for Colombia. I have spoken to him twice recently. Our meeting dispelled some false stereotypes about Colombia and me“, he noted.
Last year, Trump called Petro an “illegal drug lord“. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has designated the Colombian president a “priority target“. He was sanctioned last October.