BOGOTA, Colombia, Nov 20, (AP): Colombian president Gustavo Petro has publicly released his bank records in an effort to demonstrate he has no ties to drug trafficking, an unsubstantiated claim made by US President Donald Trump. Colombia’s Financial Information and Analysis Unit this week began releasing the president’s bank statements to the press from 2022 to June of this year after the president ordered their release on Monday.

"Don't you find it alarming that my bank accounts and transactions contradict President (Donald) Trump’s assessment of a president democratically elected by Colombians?” Petro wrote Wednesday on the social network X. Petro is referring to the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on him, first lady Verónica Alcocer, and his eldest son Nicolás Petro, all of whom were accused of drug trafficking links without evidence.

However, analysts are skeptical that publishing his accounts will achieve this goal, warning that the move has instead sparked a public debate about his private life. If there were alleged drug trafficking transactions, they "surely will not appear in the president’s accounts,” Yann Basset, a professor of political science at the Universidad del Rosario, told The Associated Press, adding that he does not believe Petro’s move will convince experts or the United States.

It is "more an act of transparency toward the public,” Basset said. The released accounts have so far shown no sign of suspicious transactions but have revealed payments for a house mortgage, purchases at stores like Gucci and Ralph Lauren, and a transaction at a club. This has led to criticism from the local press.

"Your analysis is quite immature,” Petro wrote on X Wednesday after being questioned about his spending. "It implies that if you’re a socialist you’ll starve, because all food in capitalism involves buying goods.” Petro came to power on a platform that directly challenged concentrated power groups, promising structural changes to significantly reduce Colombia’s inequality and poverty.