NEW YORKK.- The US Justice Department is investigating the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, for alleged relations with drug traffickers, according to The New York Times, which cites three people familiar with the matter.
The newspaper indicates that these investigations are focused, among other issues, on whether Petro held meetings with drug traffickers or whether he requested donations from traffickers during his presidential campaign.
The Manhattan and Brooklyn prosecutors’ offices, in New York, are in charge of these investigations, in which prosecutors specialized in international narcotics trafficking and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Homeland Security Investigation Service (HSI) participate, the newspaper adds.
The New York newspaper also points out that the investigations are in their initial phase and that it is unknown if any of them will lead to criminal charges against the president.
In addition, he points out that there is no evidence that the White House has favored the initiation of said investigations.
The bilateral relationship between the United States and Colombia has been experiencing tensions since January 2025, after the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, which gave way to a period of strong differences with the Colombian Government.
The first major crisis occurred that month, when Petro refused to receive US military flights with deported Colombian citizens, considering that they were being transferred in inhumane conditions. In response, Trump threatened to impose tariffs and economic sanctions against Colombia.
The discrepancies continued during the following months, especially over the approach to the anti-drug fight, which led to the decertification of Colombia by the United States in this matter and the imposition of sanctions against Colombian officials, including the head of state himself.
In September 2025, the US revoked Petro’s visa after the Colombian participated in an event in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, in which he urged the US military to disobey orders from his Government in relation to the war in Gaza.
However, Petro pointed out that the US Government reactivated his visa until the end of his term, which will end on August 7.
The tension in the relationship decreased after a call between Petro and Trump in early January, which gave way to high-level meetings between officials from both governments and the meeting between both leaders on February 3.
