WASHINGTON, October 25. /TASS/. Washington has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro for political reasons, American lawyer and human rights activist Dan Kovalik, who will represent Petro’s interests in the US, told TASS.
"We believe that this designation is totally without merit. This is being done for political reasons," he pointed out. "What are those reasons? I think the two things that upset President Trump are that President Petro is one of the most outspoken advocates for the Palestinian cause in the world right now. And given that Trump is supporting the genocide against the Palestinians, that upsets him," Kovalik noted, referring largely to Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
"The second thing is that Petro is unwilling to help in any intervention in Venezuela. He's made that clear," the lawyer went on to say, adding: "So in response, they've put him on this sanctions list."
"We're obviously exploring our options, but we're going to take all measures, legal measures to challenge this," Kovalik concluded.
On Friday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced that Washington had decided to impose sanctions on Petro, his wife and son. Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti was blacklisted.