The US has placed sanctions on Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, accusing him of failing to curb drug trafficking.
President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Colombia's Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, as well as Petro's wife and eldest son. They include barring them from accessing assets and properties they may have in the US.
Colombia was once a close ally of Washington's war on drugs, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually in military assistance. But Petro and Trump have clashed frequently since Trump's return to power.
Bessent noted that since Petro, a former guerrilla, took office, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.
The Treasury labeled Colombia as the world's top exporter of cocaine, which poses a significant drug threat to the US.
In a separate statement, the State Department said it would not certify Colombia's counter-narcotics efforts.
Petro denied the accusations, asserting he has been fighting drug trafficking for decades and has contributed to reducing cocaine consumption in the US. He described the situation as a complete paradox and vowed not to retreat.
In recent weeks, the US military has intensified operations in the Caribbean, allegedly targeting vessels they claim carry drugs.
Last week, Trump announced the suspension of payments and subsidies to Colombia after Petro labeled US airstrikes on drug vessels a tyranny act and accused US officials of violating Colombian sovereignty.
Sanctioning a head of state is rare but not unprecedented, with leaders of countries like Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela having faced similar actions.
