❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Gustavo Petro of Colombia is under criminal investigation by at least two U.S. federal prosecutors’ offices.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Gustavo Petro, U.S. Attorneys’ offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The investigations were revealed on Friday, March 20, 2026, and remain ongoing.
🎯IMPACT: The investigations could influence Colombia’s upcoming presidential elections and affect U.S.-Colombia relations.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed federal prosecutors in both Manhattan and Brooklyn to open criminal investigations into Colombia’s radical socialist President, Gustavo Petro, over alleged meetings with drug traffickers and accusations that he is accepted campaign contributions from criminal cartels. Both federal criminal probes appear to be in the earliest stages, and it is unclear whether either will result in criminal charges.
Colombia’s Petro is one of the last remaining critics of U.S. President Donald J. Trump in South America. However, Petro is term-limited and is set to leave office after Colombia’s May 2026 presidential election, suggesting the DOJ’s criminal probes are setting the stage for the alleged narco-leader’s prosecution after his presidential term expires.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are involved in these inquiries. However, despite the long-standing acrimony between President Trump and Petro, there is currently no evidence that the investigations were requested or initiated by the White House, and allegations of Petro’s involvement with drug traffickers and criminal cartels long predate Trump’s second term in office.
The National Pulse reported in October last year that Petro had suggested in an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision that “getting rid of” Trump may be necessary. These comments came just one day after President Trump called Petro a “lunatic” and vowed to halt foreign aid and other payments to Colombia over Petro’s inability to shut down the illicit cocaine trade. A month later, Petro again attacked President Trump, calling him a “barbarian” for authorizing the U.S. military to destroy cartel drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
In 2023, Petro’s eldest son, Nicolas, admitted that illicit campaign contributions from people connected to cartels had flowed into his father’s presidential campaign accounts. Still, no charges were filed against Petro himself. However, the U.S Department of the Treasury did sanction Petro and several of his family members in late 2025.
Petro’s U.S. visa was revoked last September but reinstated earlier this month.
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