(MENAFN) On Friday, Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti strongly criticized the United States after being added to its sanctions list, rejecting any links to drug trafficking. Benedetti emphasized that his stance against U.S. claims was based on his defense of Colombia’s sovereignty and his support for President Gustavo Petro.

“For having defended the dignity of the country and stated that the president @petrogustavo is not a drug trafficker, they put me on the OFAC (US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) list without me having attacked them,” Benedetti wrote on the U.S. social media platform X.

He went further, denying any involvement with drug traffickers. “I have never entered the house of even a single drug trafficker. That shows that every empire is unjust and that its anti-drug fight is a sham for armamentism. In this country, no one buys the story that I am a drug trafficker,” Benedetti asserted.

The minister also criticized the U.S. approach, saying, “For the US, a non-violent statement is the same as being a drug trafficker. Gringos go home.”

Meanwhile, President Petro’s son, Nicolas Petro, who was also sanctioned by the U.S., denounced the move as politically motivated. “For the sole fact of being the son of @petrogustavo they unjustly put me on the Clinton list. An unprecedented political and judicial persecution. I will go to international organizations to defend my rights,” he stated.

The U.S. sanctions, announced Friday, accused President Gustavo Petro’s administration of failing to adequately address the illegal drug trade. The sanctions also extend to Petro’s immediate family and close associates, as stated by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC.

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