Minute30.com .- Diplomatic tension between Colombia and the United States has escalated to a critical point with a serious threat coming from the administration of Donald Trump. Republican Bernie Moreno, a voice close to the president, has assured that Trump’s team would be planning to impose personal sanctions against President Gustavo Petro and his entourage.
The center of the controversy is a serious accusation: the Colombian president’s alleged links with drug cartels. Moreno maintained that the Trump administration intends to move forward with these actions due to ongoing investigations into the alleged support of drug trafficking cartels that would have facilitated the rise of the current Colombian head of state.
The threat was broadcast directly in an interview with the Fox News network, setting off alarms in Bogotá. «What we have in Colombia is a president who was elected thanks to the help of the drug cartels. We are going to continue investigating that; In fact, we are going to accelerate that investigation,” Moreno stated.
The sanctions would imply the inclusion of key figures in the feared ‘OFAC List’, also called the “Clinton List.” The measure would not only affect President Gustavo Petro, but would also cover his “extended family” and direct collaborators, according to the Republican senator, which would freeze his assets and prohibit transactions with US entities.
Moreno framed this action within the so-called ‘Trump Doctrine’, which is based on the fact that “the Americas will be freed from deadly illegal drugs, from the cartels that traffic them and from the corrupt politicians who allow this activity and benefit from it,” said the Republican, who has already had previous run-ins with the Colombian president.
This is what he said @berniemoreno on Fox News yesterday about the OFAC list, or better known as the Clinton List, in relation to the Colombian president and his associates. Will they open a formal process to add them to the list? What do you think? pic.twitter.com/i6iWpSY6T5
— Steph Bates Press (@StephBatesPress) October 21, 2025
The Republican did not hide his disdain for the current government of Colombia; Moreno pointed out that “in Colombia people support the United States and the United States supports the Colombian people. They just have an idiot leader in charge right now.”
Moreno expressed confidence that the diplomatic situation will soon normalize: “there are elections next year, and I think that’s going to be very different, and our relationship with Colombia will get back on track once this guy is gone,” he said.
The escalation of these statements marks the point of greatest recent tension between both countries, bringing political disputes to the level of federal investigations and possible economic sanctions, a scenario that could completely redefine bilateral cooperation in security and the fight against drugs.
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