Colombia’s Petro Asks Trump to Lift His US Sanctions in Phone Call

Politics

A phone call between two presidents has revived one of the most damaging issues hanging over Colombia’s leader. In it, Gustavo Petro pressed Donald Trump to help lift the Petro US sanctions that have shadowed him and his family since last year.

Petro said on Friday, July 3, that he had spoken by phone with Trump and asked for help removing himself and his relatives from the US Treasury’s sanctions list, the register known in Colombia as the Clinton List. He described the exchange as friendly, the fourth such call between the two.

According to Petro and a statement from Colombia’s presidency, Trump replied that he would do his best to have the matter reviewed. The White House did not publicly confirm the call.

Why the Petro US sanctions matter

Being on the Treasury list is more than a symbolic sting. It freezes any assets that touch US jurisdiction and effectively bars American firms, and many foreign banks that clear dollars, from doing business with those named.

Because so much of global finance runs through the US banking system, banks worldwide tend to cut ties with a sanctioned person rather than risk their own access to dollars. For a public figure, that can mean stalled contracts, failed payments and partners who quietly walk away.

Petro, his former partner, his eldest son and his interior minister were added to the list in October 2025, at the low point of a bitter feud between Bogotá and Washington. No drug-trafficking offense has been proven against him in the months since.

What the two leaders discussed

The sanctions request was the headline, but the call also covered the drug fight that has long defined the relationship. Colombia’s presidency said the country had met a shared target of eradicating about 30,000 hectares of coca, the raw material for cocaine, and expected to reach 41,000 by the end of 2026.

Petro also asked Washington to keep backing a program that pays farmers to switch away from growing coca, funding for which is secured only through the end of this year.

Yet the eradication figures Colombia cites sit against a far larger backdrop. UN data shows the country’s 2023 coca crop reached a record 253,000 hectares, with potential cocaine output estimated at 2,664 metric tons—numbers that have fueled skepticism in Washington about Bogotá’s anti-drug strategy even as both sides try to keep cooperation on track. In a lighter aside, he said he was surprised Trump had not realized he had not supported the hard-right candidate who won Colombia’s recent election.

That candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, takes office on 7 August 2026 and has aligned himself closely with Washington’s tougher line. The call was the first direct contact between Petro and Trump since a White House meeting in February that had eased months of tension.

The context frames why the request landed when it did. Petro has kept an uneasy footing with Washington, criticizing US strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean while at the same time reviving extradition orders and pointing to his eradication figures.

With only weeks left in office, lifting the mark of the sanctions would let Petro leave power without the financial stigma that has followed him, and would matter for his family long after he steps down.

A promise, not a guarantee

A supportive word from the US president carries weight, but it does not lift the sanctions on its own. The decision belongs to the Treasury, which reviews each case on its own merits and can take its time.

Lawyers who handle such cases note that a sanctioned person can formally request a review, submit documents and argue that the original grounds no longer hold. Petro’s legal team had already begun that process, and Trump’s backing could give it fresh momentum without settling the outcome.

For a foreign reader, the episode is a window into how Washington now mixes sanctions, drug policy and diplomacy in the region. Relief and pressure increasingly arrive together, and a friendly phone call can matter as much as any formal ruling.

What did Petro ask Trump for?

In a July 3 phone call, Petro asked Trump to help remove him and his family from the US Treasury’s sanctions list, on which they were placed in October 2025. Petro said Trump replied that he would do his best to have the case reviewed.

Can Trump lift the Petro US sanctions by himself?

No, he cannot: the decision rests with the US Treasury, which reviews each case and decides whether the grounds for the sanctions still stand. A president’s political support can add momentum but does not guarantee removal.

What else did the call cover?

The two leaders discussed anti-drug cooperation, with Colombia reporting it had eradicated about 30,000 hectares of coca and aimed for 41,000 by year-end. Petro also asked the US to keep supporting a crop-substitution program funded through the end of 2026.

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