Colombian President Petro slams Trump for calling him a ‘drug leader’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday dismissed US President Donald Trump's "drug leader" label, saying Trump doesn't even know where Colombia is or whom he is talking about.

Addressing thousands of supporters gathered at the historic Bolivar Square in the capital Bogota, Petro commented on the accusations directed at him by the US administration.

Petro accused Trump of being ignorant of Colombia's realities, saying: "Mr. Trump has no idea who I am, what I think, or anything about this country's history."

"He doesn't even know exactly where Colombia is," he said, asking: "Who increased the coca fields in this country? Who reduced them? Who declared war on drug cartels?"

"I'll tell you directly. Mr. Trump, I know these words won't reach you because the only voices you hear are those of the Colombian mafia," he underlined.

Petro also reacted to US sanctions targeting him and his family, stating: "Fraudulent businessmen and politicians here have encouraged the far-right in the US to impose sanctions on Colombia and its president."

"Mr. Trump, those people you now call allies are the very embodiment of the Colombian mafia," he stated.

"Your ally is a former president raised within the circles of the Ochoa cartel and Pablo Escobar," Petro emphasized, adding: "And now Trump attacks the leader who has fought the hardest against drugs."

Saying he has no assets in the US, Petro added: "I've never done business in my life, I don't have a single dollar in the US, no accounts to freeze. I have never had, nor will I ever have, any desire to do business in the US."

US SANCTIONS PETRO AND HIS FAMILY

In a written statement, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his wife Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia, his son Nicolas Petro, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti had been placed on the "Specially Designated Nationals" list, making them subject to US sanctions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in a separate statement that cocaine production in Colombia had reached its highest levels in decades since Petro came to power, accusing him of allowing drug cartels to grow and refusing to curb their activities.

TRUMP PREVIOUSLY TARGETED PETRO

Accusing Petro of poor governance, Trump had earlier referred to the Colombian president as "an illegal drug leader" and announced that all US payments to Colombia had been halted and that Washington was restructuring its relations with Bogota.

Trump claimed Colombian drugs were entering the US via Mexico and said serious sanctions had already been imposed on the country.