Colombia’s Petro denies US drug probe claims, cites record

Colombia’s president on Friday denied allegations of clandestine ties to drug trafficking following a news report by The New York Times suggesting he is the subject of multiple US federal investigations.

On US social media platform X, Gustavo Petro dismissed the claims as unfounded, asserting that there is "not a single investigation" of him in Colombia on such matters. Petro framed his political career as a lifelong crusade against the forces he is now accused of associating with.

“I have never in my life spoken to a drug trafficker,” Petro stated. “On the contrary, I dedicated 10 years of my life—at the risk of my own life and the exile of my family—to exposing the ties between the most powerful drug traffickers and politicians in Congress and national governments.”

The controversy stems from an investigation alleging that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn have opened preliminary inquiries into the president. The investigations reportedly focus on whether Petro held undisclosed meetings with traffickers or solicited campaign donations from criminal organisations.

On the issue of his 2022 presidential bid, Petro maintained that his campaign was beyond reproach.

“I have always been emphatic with my (campaign) managers: donations from neither bankers nor drug traffickers are to be accepted,” he said.

He further claimed that exhaustive domestic reviews of his campaign finances yielded no evidence of illicit entry.

“The thorough and intensive investigation into my presidential campaign did not uncover a single peso from drug trafficking. That is my order and my personal principle as a political leader.”

According to the Times, the US inquiries are being led by two separate prosecutorial offices and remain in their early stages. While the report cited anonymous sources, it said investigators are examining possible "clandestine ties" that would represent a significant shift in US-Colombia relations if proven.

The allegations have surfaced at a particularly volatile moment for the Petro administration, which is already navigating a regional landscape marked by trade wars and border tensions with neighboring Ecuador.

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Source: TRT