The U.S. Treasury Department issued a statement on October 24 announcing sanctions on Colombian President Petro and others.

Colombian President Petro said on Monday that Colombia had been effectively fighting drug trafficking for decades and tried to help American society reduce cocaine consumption, but he was sanctioned by the U.S. government, saying that he had hired U.S. lawyers to defend him and would never step back.

President of Colombia Petro:Today, they put me on the list of the so-called Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, because I exposed to the Colombian people a program supported by the CIA-bypassing the law and monitoring communications in Colombia. We must learn from this. To the current U.S. government, we must not respond by bending our knees. We must respond with a firm stand, as others have already done, and take to the streets to defend the rights of the people and the rights of * from tyranny.

Foreign Ministry condemns U.S. sanctions ¡°unfounded¡±

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia issued a statement on the 24th, strongly condemning the US actions, saying the sanctions were "groundless." The statement also condemned U.S. Treasury Secretary Basent's rude and outrageous remarks against the President of Colombia, saying these remarks would not help normalize diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a statement on Thursday announcing sanctions on Colombian President Pedro and his wife, eldest son and Interior Secretary Amando Benedetti, which will freeze his assets and related financial services in the United States.

Colombian people protest US sanctions

After the United States announced sanctions against Colombian President Petro and others, thousands of Colombians held a rally in Bogota, the capital, on the 24th to strongly oppose the actions of the United States.

People of Colombia:In all things, we shouldn¡¯t be afraid (US sanctions on Petro). Of course, as our president said, we neither need the United States nor rely on the United States. These are not the focus. However, now the situation is affecting our country. For our country, the Colombians must stand up and face it all courageously.

People of Colombia:At first, they (the United States) came for Venezuela. After Venezuela, they started against us. This problem is not our President Petro or Venezuelan President Maduro, but the current situation that people have to face.