The effects for Petro, his family, and Benedetti of joining the Clinton List

This Friday, President Gustavo Petro was included on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, or Clinton List , of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States government, along with his wife, First Lady Verónica Alcocer, his eldest son, former deputy of the Atlántico Department Nicolás Petro Burgos, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti .

According to the OFAC statement, the designation was made because " President Petro has granted benefits to narco-terrorist organizations under the auspices of his 'total peace' plan, among other policies, which has led to record levels of coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia ."

(You can read: The US officially includes President Gustavo Petro on the Clinton List .)

The president highlighted on his X account: “ Indeed, Bernie Moreno's threat was fulfilled, my children and my wife, I entered the OFAC list. My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the US. ”

Consequences for those involved

The measure has several immediate consequences. First, " all assets and interests in assets of the designated or blocked persons described above that are located in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC ," the office says.

This means that, with the inclusion, the head of state " would lose all access to the financial system inside and outside the United States ," as well as the first lady, the former representative from Atlántico and the Minister of the Interior.

(You may be interested in: 'The threat was carried out': Petro on his inclusion on the Clinton list .)

" Any entity that is owned, directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, 50% or more, by one or more blocked persons is also blocked. Unless expressly authorized by an OFAC-issued general or specific license, or exemption, OFAC regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve property or interests in property of blocked persons ," OFAC added.

Likewise, each sanctioned person could face secondary screening at U.S. entry points and be placed on U.S. airlines' "no fly" lists .

(More: The United States officially suspends financial aid to Colombia .)

Failure to comply with the above " may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals ."

In the specific case of President Petro, the sanctions effects and implications are greater, since the head of state " would lose all access to the financial system inside and outside the United States ," as highlighted in the statement from the office attached to the Department of the Treasury .

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