President Gustavo Petro was added to the US Treasury's Clinton List, freezing any assets under US jurisdiction and barring transactions with American citizens or companies. The measure also impacts his wife, son, and Interior Minister, marking the first time a Colombian president appears on the list. Experts note that his pension and Ecopetrol remain unaffected, though questions arise over managing his personal finances.
Gustavo Petro's addition to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, known as the Clinton List and managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), took place last Friday. This personal sanction freezes properties under US jurisdiction and restricts international financial operations, damaging Colombia's global reputation.
Practically, the president's salary, handled directly by the Ministry of Hacienda, may encounter hurdles in Colombia's banking system, where banks typically close accounts for listed individuals. Constitutional lawyer Andrés Felipe Velásquez explained: “The payment through channeling within the Colombian financial system is indeed a problem because banks close the accounts of a person on the Clinton List.” Alternative methods include cash payments or checks cashed by intermediaries, such as family members, though Velásquez noted that cash is “not very well viewed.” His pension, governed by Colombia's Colpensiones system, remains unaffected, as the OFAC measure lacks internal legal force to change it.
For Ecopetrol, Camilo Cuervo from Holland & Knight clarified that the sanction targets Petro personally, not the institutions he represents, as supported by court jurisprudence. However, Velásquez warned of a “risk of contagion,” akin to Venezuela's Pdvsa or Russian state firms, where scrutiny intensifies if benefits to the sanctioned individual are perceived.
Petro retains his constitutional powers to sign contracts, with no automatic grounds for suspension. Yet, transactions involving international elements, such as purchases from US suppliers or dollar bond issuances, could face complications. Alongside Petro, the list includes Verónica Alcocer, Nicolás Petro, and Armando Benedetti. This marks the first instance of a Colombian president facing such a blockade, entailing not only financial isolation but also reputational harm and potential political effects. In the region, Nicolás Maduro has been listed since 2013, along with Horacio Cartes and Michel Martelly. Colombian entries are mainly drug traffickers like Wilder de Jesús Alcaraz.
The event underscores an ethical and institutional legitimacy crisis, with diplomatic fallout eroding trust with partners like the United States, economic repercussions hitting foreign investment and credit, and internal effects exacerbating polarization and impunity perceptions. Columnist Wilson Ruiz Orejuela described it as “an international declaration of distrust toward Colombia,” compromising the national image and demanding swift, transparent investigations by oversight bodies.