Multiple federal inquiries are reviewing whether Petro had contact with traffickers or campaign-related financial ties as he and his government deny all allegations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. federal prosecutors are conducting multiple inquiries involving Colombian President Gustavo Petro over alleged connections to narcotics trafficking networks, according to reports citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The investigations, first reported by The New York Times, are being handled by U.S. attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn and are examining whether Petro had interactions with drug traffickers and whether his presidential campaign received illicit funding.
According to the report, the inquiries remain in early stages and involve participation from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, with no indication that the White House played a role in initiating the probes.
Additional reporting from The Associated Press, CBS News, and Reuters cited unnamed sources and described similar investigative activity.
After reviewing DEA records, the AP reported that Petro has appeared in multiple investigations since 2022, including inquiries based on information from confidential informants. Some of those allegations involve possible contacts with Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel tied to Petro’s “total peace” policy, which aims to negotiate with armed groups.
“The ‘priority target’ label is reserved for suspects DEA deems to have a ‘significant impact’ on the drug trade. It’s unclear when the DEA gave Petro that designation,” AP reported.
Sources cited by CBS News indicated Petro was not originally the focus of the investigations but emerged during broader probes, while Reuters reported that Petro is “not the focus” of current investigations, with one source stating, “There are not ongoing investigations that are squarely focused on him.”
Petro denied the allegations in a social media statement responding to reporting by a Colombian outlet, stating that “there isn’t a single investigation into my ties to drug traffickers, for one simple reason: I have never in my life spoken to a drug trafficker.”
“On the contrary, I dedicated ten years of my life — at the risk of my own existence and at the cost of my family’s well-being — to exposing the ties between the most powerful drug traffickers and politicians in the National Congress, as well as local and national governments, during what was known as the era of paramilitary governance,” he said.
“Regarding my campaigns, I have always told managers that donations from neither bankers nor drug traffickers are accepted. The thorough and intense investigation into my presidential campaign did not uncover a single peso from drug traffickers because that is my rule and my personal principle as a political leader,” Petro added, concluding that U.S. findings would help him “refute the accusations from Colombia’s far right.”
The Colombian government also rejected the reports in an official statement from the embassy in Washington, asserting that no competent authority has issued any formal determination or notification supporting the claims.
“The insinuations contained therein lack any legal or factual basis,” the statement said, adding that the reports rely on anonymous sources and “should be read in its full context and approached with the caution that such unverified reports require.”
Petro is currently under U.S. sanctions after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated him in October for allegedly engaging in activities that contributed to the international drug trade. The sanctions also apply to his wife, Veronica Alcocer, and his son, Nicolás Petro Burgos.
Speaking to Telemundo, attorney Daniel Kovalik, who represents Petro regarding his inclusion on the Specially Designated Nationals list, rejected the claims and said the investigations do not directly target the Colombian leader.
“There is no evidence whatsoever; he is completely free of any kind of corruption, including anything related to drug trafficking,” Kovalik said.
“In fact, he has done more than any other president in Colombia’s history to eradicate coca production, seize cocaine, and fight corruption. So we are confident that he will be fully exonerated,” he added.
Kovalik also stated that Petro’s relationship with President Donald Trump remains positive and said the two leaders spoke by phone last week.
“President Trump said he [Petro] is welcome in the United States at any time,” Kovalik said.
Separately, Petro’s son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, is facing trial in Colombia on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment related to allegations that he accepted funds from drug traffickers during the 2022 presidential campaign. The proceedings resumed in late February, with Petro Burgos acknowledging he received money but characterizing it as a “mistake” rather than a crime.
Petro previously met with Trump at the White House earlier this year following a period of public tensions, after a scheduled anti-Trump speech in Bogotá was altered following a last-minute phone call between the two leaders.
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