The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denied this Tuesday that he had asked the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to remove him from the Clinton List of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which imposes financial sanctions on international leaders.

“I didn't ask for that. You know how my life has been; “For much of my youth I did not depend on banks or checkbooks,” Petro stated during a press conference. In the same speech, he clarified that he did tell Trump that one cannot “act under blackmail,” making it clear that their dialogue focused on principles of sovereignty and financial autonomy. He stated that they did not discuss personal matters: “He didn't talk to me about his businesses, nor I about mine, because I don't have any,” he affirmed. Petro rejects links to drug trafficking. Regarding his inclusion on the Clinton List, which the Treasury Department justified by his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, Petro stated that these accusations are unfounded. “If there were legal evidence, I wouldn't be here speaking,” he remarked regarding his presence in Washington. The president opined that he was actually sanctioned for the words he spoke in September during a rally in New York, where he urged US soldiers to disobey Trump's orders regarding the Gaza Strip. “symbolic” instrument because in reality the large fortunes of drug lords are not pursued.

First meeting between Trump and Petro after a year of tensions

Trump and Petro met for two hours at the White House in their first meeting after a year of strong disagreements and insults between them.

Both the American and the Colombian expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting.

At the heart of the discussion was the issue of drug trafficking, Washington maintains that cocaine production has skyrocketed under Petro's government, while he defends his crop substitution policy as successful.