{"text":[[{"start":12.09,"text":"The US has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, dramatically deepening the rift between Washington and Bogotá, a traditional security partner on drug trafficking."}],[{"start":25.13,"text":"Petro, his wife and his eldest son were added to the US Treasury’s list of counter-narcotics sanctions on Friday, alongside Colombian interior minister Armando Benedetti."}],[{"start":38.82,"text":"“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” said Treasury secretary Scott Bessent."}],[{"start":54.05,"text":"“President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President [Donald] Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”"}],[{"start":71.34,"text":"Trump has been sparring with Petro, a leftist former guerrilla member, since January, when he refused to receive flights of shackled Colombian nationals who had been deported from the US."}],[{"start":84.27000000000001,"text":"Anna Kelly, deputy White House press secretary, said on Friday: “As President Trump stated . . . Petro is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the USA.”"}],[{"start":101.67000000000002,"text":"“President Petro better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”"}],[{"start":111.60000000000002,"text":"The two leaders, both prolific users of social media, have clashed over illegal drugs policy, Israel’s war in Gaza, and Washington’s military build-up in waters off the coast of Latin America."}],[{"start":126.88000000000002,"text":"Petro responded to the sanctions with a post on X. “Fighting drug trafficking for decades basically get me this,” he said. “That’s some paradox, but always onward, and never kneeling.”"}],[{"start":141.22000000000003,"text":"He had his US visa revoked last month after he called on American troops to “disobey Trump’s orders” during a pro-Palestine rally in New York. Several of Petro’s ministers surrendered their visas in solidarity."}],[{"start":157.26000000000002,"text":"Washington last month decertified Bogotá as an ally in combating drug trafficking for the first time since 1997, blaming Petro for a surge in the production of cocaine, of which Colombia is the world’s largest producer."}],[{"start":175.10000000000002,"text":"Despite openly suggesting that cocaine be legalised and that it was no worse “than whisky”, Petro claims his government has taken a tough line on drug-traffickers, seizing more cocaine at sea than previous, conservative administrations."}],[{"start":191.24,"text":"But Petro’s erratic behaviour in office — including unexplained absences from public view and outlandish late-night posts on social media — has also drawn criticism, and was cited by the Treasury on Friday. The Colombian leader’s former foreign minister has accused him of being a drug addict."}],[{"start":211.59,"text":"Prosecutors in Colombia are investigating Benedetti and Petro’s son Nicolás for campaign finance violations relating to accusations that the campaign took money from alleged drug traffickers."}],[{"start":225.43,"text":"The Treasury said that “Colombia remains the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine”, which is a “significant drug threat” to the US, and that Petro had made a “flippant comparison of the use of the drug to whisky”."}],[{"start":239.56,"text":"The US also said that Petro had driven Colombia further apart from its security partners, including by sharing confidential information from secure anti-money laundering communication channels last year."}],[{"start":254.61,"text":"Earlier this week Trump called the Colombian leader a “thug” and said that all US funding to the country had been halted. He has also threatened Colombia with more tariffs."}],[{"start":269.11,"text":"The sanctions come as Washington widens its military operation in the region. Pentagon on Friday said it was deploying the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group to the waters near Latin America. It will be joined by multiple destroyers to form the strike group."}],[{"start":288.21000000000004,"text":"Washington has already struck 10 alleged drug trafficking vessels in the region, killing a total of 43 people in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Petro accused the US of murdering a Colombian fisherman in a strike last month."}],[{"start":316.27000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1761528694_5343.mp3"}