The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has designated Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro as a “priority target,” reported the Associated Press (AP) news agency on Friday.
AP was given access to records that would prove that the DEA considers the president a “suspected criminal,” based on information provided by the agency’s network of “confidential informants” since 2022.
The basic concept of priority targeting is to identify, target, investigate, and disrupt or dismantle the most significant international, national, regional and local impact drug trafficking and/or money laundering organizations having a significant impact on drug availability within the United States.
Drug Enforcement Agency
According to the news agency, “the alleged crimes the DEA has investigated include [Petro’s] possible dealings with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and a scheme to leverage his ‘total peace’ plan to benefit prominent traffickers who contributed to his presidential campaign.”
“The records also suggest the use of law enforcement to smuggle cocaine and fentanyl through Colombian ports,” AP added.
The news agency published the story hours after the New York Times (NYT) reported that some of the information gathered by the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations appeared in two “narcoterrorism” investigations New York city.
None of these investigations suggested that Petro was personally being investigated for any criminal activity.
US prosecutors investigating Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro: NYT
The US agents informed US media on their investigations into the relatively popular leftist president two months before the country’s voters elect Petro’s successor.
All polls have claimed that one of the government’s closest allies, Senator Ivan Cepeda, is by far the most popular of the candidates.
The political party of Petro and Cepeda, the leftist Historic Pact, expanded its political power in the congressional elections that were held earlier this month.
The revelations have raised alarms among Colombia’s leftists about the US Government apparent attempt to meddle in the elections after using intelligence capacities meant to combat drug trafficking to look for dirt on critics of the administration of President Donald Trump.
DEA and HSI agents were implicated in an alleged conspiracy to fabricate links between Cepeda and drug traffickers last year.
This alleged conspiracy also involved the former lawyer of former President Alvaro Uribe and multiple drug traffickers who had been convicted in the United States.
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