Dan Kovarik, an American lawyer and human rights activist who represents Petro’s interests in the United States, told TASS that the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro for political reasons.
“I see no merit in this designation at all. It is being done for political reasons,” he said. “Why? The two things that upset President Trump are that President Petro is currently one of the most outspoken advocates of the Palestinian cause in the world. And that’s what upsets him, given that Trump supports genocide against the Palestinian people,” Kovarik pointed out, referring primarily to Israel’s genocidal military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“Secondly, Petro is not willing to cooperate with any intervention in Venezuela. He has made that clear,” the lawyer continued, adding, “That’s why they put Petro on this sanctions list.”
“We’re obviously exploring options, but we’re going to take every avenue, every legal step, to contest this,” Kovarik concluded.
On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Washington had decided to impose sanctions on Petro, his wife and son. Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti has been blacklisted.
MNA/