{"id":2501683,"date":"2025-10-22T00:26:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T04:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/petro-sees-ex-presidents-acquittal-as-path-to-us-sanctions\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T00:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T04:27:10","slug":"petro-sees-ex-presidents-acquittal-as-path-to-us-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/petro-sees-ex-presidents-acquittal-as-path-to-us-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Petro sees ex-president&#8217;s acquittal as path to US sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpetro-sees-ex-presidents-acquittal-as-path-to-us-sanctions%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2501683&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the recent acquittal of former president \u00c1lvaro Uribe, who had been previously convicted of bribing a paramilitary witness but was cleared by an appeals court. Petro accused Uribe of ties to right-wing paramilitary groups responsible for violence and genocide in Colombia&#8217;s past. He suggested that the acquittal, supported by the Trump governance which has aligned itself with Uribe, could lead to U.S. sanctions against him, Petro. Tensions between the U.S. and Colombia have increased amid U.S. military strikes against vessels alleged to be involved in drug trafficking, which Petro claims have harmed innocent civilians.President Trump has threatened to cut subsidies, impose higher tariffs, and carry out military actions against drug production in Colombia. Petro also defended himself after controversy over remarks interpreted as a call to &#8220;overthrow&#8221; Trump, clarifying that he only hoped for a change in U.S.policy away from violence. Meanwhile, U.S. officials like Senator Marco Rubio have praised Uribe&#8217;s acquittal, condemning what they saw as judicial politicization. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >situation highlights deep political<\/a> and diplomatic strains between Petro&#8217;s left-leaning government and the Trump-era U.S. administration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Colombia&rsquo;s Petro sees Trump-backed ex-president&rsquo;s acquittal as path to US sanctions<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2377777\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/colombia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colombian<\/a> President Gustavo Petro suggested Tuesday&rsquo;s acquittal of the country&rsquo;s former president Alvaro Uribe could open the door to sanctions from the United States given the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump administration&rsquo;s<\/a> support for the right-wing leader.<\/p>\n<p>Alvaro had been found guilty in July of bribing a paramilitary witness to lie about alleged links to him, but a Colombian appeals court overturned that conviction.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3858020\/zelensky-hopes-russia-stalling-tactics-trump-putin-meeing-tomahawk-negotiations\/\">Zelensky hopes Russia&#8217;s stalling tactics can revive Tomahawk negotiations<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3858307\/latino-gop-condemns-colombia-gustavo-petro-threats-overthrow-trump\/\">Latino GOP condemns Colombian president&#8217;s threats to &#8216;overthrow&#8217; Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3858329\/jd-vance-optimistic-gaza-ceasefire-deal-despite-cracks-showing\/\">Vance voices optimism for Gaza ceasefire deal after cracks start to show<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Petro decried the latest ruling on social media, accusing Uribe of being aligned with Colombia&rsquo;s right-wing paramilitary groups.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is how the history of paramilitary governance in Colombia is covered up&mdash;that is, the history of the politicians who came to power in alliance with drug trafficking and unleashed genocide in Colombia,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-rips-biden-an-aggressive-left-wing-culture-warrior-ultimately-going-to-be-their-undoing-in-2022\/\" title=\"DeSantis Rips Biden: \u2018An Aggressive Left-Wing Culture Warrior,\u2019 \u2018Ultimately Going To Be Their Undoing in 2022\u2019\">left-wing president<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/petrogustavo\/status\/1980677823728873690\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said on X<\/a>, seemingly referencing the systematic extermination of the Patriotic Union party by drug cartels, paramilitary groups, and state agents in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Now Trump, allied with these politicians and with Uribe, will seek to sanction the president who denounced, throughout his life, the alliances between Colombian political power and paramilitary drug trafficking in Colombia,&rdquo; Petro added, &ldquo;and he does so with the help of those who helped paramilitarism in the country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks during a meeting of leaders of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In recent days, tensions between the U.S. and Colombia have escalated as the U.S. military <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3856345\/drug-vessel-strike-caribbean-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">continues to strike<\/a> Venezuelan and Colombian vessels that President Donald Trump alleges are carrying drugs.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration says the people aboard these vessels are narcoterrorists and drug traffickers, whereas Petro argues some of them are ordinary civilians. He has repeatedly denounced the U.S. for allegedly murdering a Colombian fisherman in one of its Caribbean strikes last month.<\/p>\n<p>At least 32 people have been killed in these strikes since early September.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/petrogustavo\/status\/1980708291211673638\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate post<\/a>, Petro said the victims were &ldquo;all poor people&rdquo; and that with Trump&rsquo;s threat of using military force in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/colombia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colombia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Venezuela<\/a> over drug trafficking, a path will be paved for the U.S. to &ldquo;bring personal sanctions against me, as if I were the head of drug trafficking in the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Over the weekend, Trump announced the U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3856259\/trump-colombia-gustavo-petro-drug-fields-subsidies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cut subsidies<\/a> to Colombia and threatened to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colombia-recalls-us-ambassador-amid-drug-feud-with-trump\/\" title=\"Colombia recalls US ambassador amid drug feud with ...\">strike drug production fields<\/a> within the South American nation if Petro doesn&rsquo;t shut them down immediately. Trump also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3856554\/trump-teases-new-colombia-tariff-drug-trafficking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">teased a higher tariff<\/a> on Colombia, which already pays a 10% baseline tariff.<\/p>\n<p>Before that, Trump announced the CIA was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3852388\/trump-venezuela-land-military-strikes-cia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently authorized<\/a> to conduct clandestine operations within Venezuela to undermine President Nicolas Maduro&rsquo;s government. Maduro faces federal charges in the U.S. related to his alleged narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking ties.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Univision on Monday, Petro suggested Trump should be overthrown because of his threats against Colombia&rsquo;s sovereignty. After his comments sparked backlash from Latino Republicans in Congress, he rushed to defend himself.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t threaten Trump,&rdquo; the Colombian president <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/petrogustavo\/status\/1980490179845427282\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote on X<\/a>. &ldquo;I just said that Trump should change his heart from defending death-dealing policies around the world, like the genocide in Palestine, to life-dealing policies. If that change doesn&rsquo;t happen, then the American people themselves will change Trump, because we can&rsquo;t commit suicide.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Following Uribe&rsquo;s acquittal, Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marco Rubio<\/a> celebrated the news.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3858307\/latino-gop-condemns-colombia-gustavo-petro-threats-overthrow-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LATINO GOP CONDEMNS COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT&rsquo;S THREATS TO &lsquo;OVERTHROW&rsquo; TRUMP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Colombia&rsquo;s justice has prevailed as former President Uribe is absolved after years of the political witch hunt against him and his family,&rdquo; Rubio <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecRubio\/status\/1980730304055898229\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has remained informal allies with Uribe, who served in the Colombian presidency between 2002 and 2010 before Trump first arrived in office. Rubio has been particularly vocal against Uribe&rsquo;s prior conviction, which he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecRubio\/status\/1949961355521319246?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">once condemned<\/a> as &ldquo;the weaponization of Colombia&rsquo;s judicial branch.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Petro links Uribe&#8217;s acquittal to possible US sanctions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2501684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25234609772843.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6629,61043,21297,65620,36614],"class_list":["post-2501683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-acquittal","tag-colombian-politics","tag-ex-president","tag-petro","tag-us-sanctions"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25234609772843.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501683"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2501687,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501683\/revisions\/2501687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2501684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}