MADRID, April 18 (Reuters) – U.S. pressure on dissenting Latin American leaders could lead to a “rebellion” against Washington’s influence, Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais published on Saturday.
Petro, a former member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla, has frequently clashed with President Donald Trump, whose administration placed him on a sanctions list, compiled by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, for alleged involvement in the global illicit drug trade.
The 65-year-old, who travelled to Barcelona for a summit alongside the leaders of Spain, Brazil and Mexico, told El Pais the OFAC sanctions were being used as a political instrument to extort “those of us who espouse dissenting politics”.
“It’s a system like the one the Spanish king had a few centuries ago. And what was Latin America’s response? Rebellion. That’s what will happen now if the U.S. government isn’t capable of rethinking its ties to Latin America,” he said.
According to Petro, the U.S. bombing of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in the operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro in January instilled fear in many leaders.
However, Petro said that his personal relationship with Trump was good. The two had spoken twice recently and shattered false narratives about each other, he said, adding he had not gone to Washington to “get on his knees to beg” but they instead met as equals.
Petro, who was elected in 2022, is set to leave office in August, as the Colombian constitution bars presidents from serving more than a single term.
(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by William Mallard)
