NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Colombian President Gustavo Petro for alleged ties to drug traffickers, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The people weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing inquiry and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan in recent months have been questioning narcotraffickers about their ties to Petro and specifically about allegations the Colombian president’s representatives solicited bribes to block their extradition to the United States, said one of the people familiar with the inquiry.
The person said it wasn’t clear whether federal prosecutors have implicated Petro in any crime.
“The investigation focuses on efforts at Colombian jails to get donations to the Petro campaign — and Petro himself — in exchange for a promise not to extradite,” this person said.
A spokesperson for the Colombian presidency declined to comment on the ongoing investigations into Petro or the subsequent legal proceedings.
The federal inquiry was reported earlier Friday by the New York Times.
Petro came under scrutiny through the course of drug trafficking investigations by New York authorities that led them to identify him as a subject, according to another person familiar with the matter.
The inquiries into Petro are in the early stages and it is not clear whether they will result in charges, this person said, adding the White House has had no role in the investigations.
Petro, a former rebel leader, soared into office promising to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and reallocate state resources to addressing entrenched poverty.
A leftist firebrand known for winding sometimes incoherent speeches, he has regularly criticized the Trump administration over its support for Israel, bombing of drug boats in the Caribbean and likened the White House migration crackdown to “Nazi” tactics.
After one such outburst, at a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, Trump retaliated by revoking Petro’s U.S. visa. He also briefly slapped high tariffs on Colombia over Petro’s refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.
But more recently the two have shown signs of getting along. After a meeting at the White House in February, Trump described Petro as “terrific.”
Mustian, Richer and Goodman write for the Associated Press. Richer reported from Washington and Goodman reported from Miami. Mike Sisak contributed to this report from New York and Astrid Suárez from Bogotá, Colombia,
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