In the USA, investigations have been initiated against the president of Colombia

Colombia's leftist president Gustavo Petro has been placed under separate investigations by two federal prosecutors' offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the New York Times reported on Friday.

The investigations are in their early stages and it is unclear whether any of them will result in criminal charges. As “NYT” notes, similar proceedings were initiated against Cuba's leaders in early March, and five years ago the prosecutor's office formulated charges against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The American side cited this fact as the reason for capturing the Venezuelan leader.

Prosecutors from Brooklyn and Manhattan have been questioning drug traffickers in recent months about their connections with Gustave Petro, and in particular about allegations that representatives of the Colombian president demanded bribes to block their extradition to the United States, the Associated Press reported.

A spokesman for the Colombian president declined to comment on the case.

According to sources cited by “NYT”, prosecutors specializing in international drug trafficking, as well as officers from the American anti-drug agency DEA and the Ministry of Homeland Security are taking part in the investigation.

Shortly after US forces captured Nicolas Maduro in January, journalists asked Donald Trump whether the military could take action against Colombia. He then replied: – That sounds good.

Relations between Trump and Petro have been strained since the Colombian president refused to accept U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombian citizens in January 2025. In September 2025, the United States revoked Petro's visa when he called on American soldiers to disobey Trump during a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. In December 2025, the US president said that Petro should “watch your back” and accused him of flooding the US with cocaine.

At the beginning of the year, there was a détente in bilateral relations, which resulted in a meeting of the presidents at the White House on February 3. (PAP)

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