Tunisia Protests Grow as Opposition Unites Against President Kais Saied’s Rule 
Korea Zinc Plans $6.78 Billion U.S. Smelter Investment With Government Partnership 
U.S. Special Forces Intercept Ship Carrying Military Components Bound for Iran 
U.S. Soldiers Killed in ISIS Attack in Palmyra, Syria During Counterterrorism Mission 
U.S. Intelligence Briefly Curtailed Information Sharing With Israel Amid Gaza War Concerns 
Russian Drone Attack Hits Turkish Cargo Ship Carrying Sunflower Oil to Egypt, Ukraine Says 
Thailand Vows Continued Military Action Amid Cambodia Border Clash Despite Trump Ceasefire Claim 
Ukraine’s NATO Concession Unlikely to Shift Peace Talks, Experts Say 
International Stabilization Force for Gaza Nears Deployment as U.S.-Led Planning Advances 
Preservation Group Sues Trump Administration to Halt $300 Million White House Ballroom Project 
Hong Kong Democratic Party Disbands After Member Vote Amid Security Crackdown 
Trump Signals Two Final Candidates for Fed Chair, Calls for Presidential Input on Interest Rates 
Brazil Arrests Former Peruvian Foreign Minister Augusto Blacker Miller in International Fraud Case 
U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Amid Shift in Brazil Relations 
International Outcry Grows Over Re-Arrest of Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran 
California, 18 States Sue to Block Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee 
Belarus Frees Opposition Leaders Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka in U.S.-Brokered Deal 
The United States has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, intensifying tensions between Washington and Bogotá. The move, announced Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department, follows accusations from President Donald Trump that Petro failed to curb Colombia’s cocaine production and allowed drug cartels to thrive.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Colombia’s cocaine output has reached its “highest rate in decades,” contributing to drug-related deaths in the U.S. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” Bessent said, defending the sanctions as a strong measure to protect Americans from narcotics.
Petro, nearing the end of his presidential term, denounced the allegations as “false and politically motivated.” He emphasized that his administration has seized record amounts of cocaine and slowed the expansion of coca crops since 2021. “What the U.S. Treasury says is a lie,” Petro posted on X (formerly Twitter). “My government has seized more cocaine than ever before.”
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets belonging to Petro, his wife, his son Nicolas Petro, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, restricting Americans from engaging in transactions with them. Benedetti condemned the sanctions as proof that the U.S. war on drugs is a “sham.”
The confrontation underscores worsening relations between Trump and Petro. The two leaders have clashed over U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean targeting alleged drug vessels, with Petro calling them “murders.” Trump has also threatened to raise tariffs and suspend aid to Colombia, while the U.S. State Department announced it will not certify Colombia’s counter-narcotics efforts.
Despite past cooperation under Joe Biden, Trump’s administration marks a stark departure, signaling a breakdown in U.S.-Colombian relations. Analysts warn the sanctions could destabilize regional diplomacy. Former U.S. official Brett Bruen criticized the move as “cowboy theatrics” that risk inflaming tensions across Latin America.
