Ex-OFAC Director on Petro Sanctions: Trump Could Act Immediately or in Months

A former director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has shed light on the complexities surrounding potential sanctions relief for Colombian President Gustavo Petro. John Smith, who led OFAC from 2015 to 2018, explained that any decision to remove Petro from a sanctions list is fundamentally political and rests solely with the U.S. government.

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There is no way to know when President Trump will want to take action. Anyone who believes they can guess when, where, or what President Trump will do generally ends up being wrong.

Speaking on Caracol Radio's '6 AM W', Smith emphasized that there is no predictable timeframe for such a decision. "There is no way to know when President Trump will want to take action. Anyone who believes they can guess when, where, or what President Trump will do generally ends up being wrong," he stated. Smith indicated that action could come "immediately" or be delayed by "days, weeks, or months."

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President Trump could act immediately or he could decide to take some days, weeks, or months to make a decision.

Smith clarified the nature of OFAC sanctions, differentiating them from criminal proceedings. He noted that many individuals sanctioned by OFAC do not face parallel criminal charges. This is because economic sanctions are typically applied under a lower legal standard – a 'reasonable to believe' basis – compared to the criminal justice system's 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard.

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In the first place, most people who have been sanctioned by OFAC do not have parallel criminal proceedings.

This distinction is significant, as it means the absence of a formal criminal accusation in the U.S. does not automatically facilitate or guarantee a removal from the OFAC sanctions list. The decision-making process remains discretionary and subject to the political considerations of the U.S. administration.

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The reason is that they operate under different standards of proof. In the United States, as in many countries, the criminal standard is beyond a reasonable doubt.