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Petro Publishes Bank Records, Defends 2023 Lisbon Strip-Club Charge

He ordered the UIAF to release his transactions to challenge U.S. narcotrafficking sanctions.

Overview

  • Colombia’s financial intelligence unit distributed statements from 2022 to mid-2025 that detailed routine expenses, mortgage payments and luxury purchases, with no suspicious activity reported by banks.
  • A roughly $50 charge logged at Lisbon’s Ménage Strip Club during a May 2023 official trip prompted criticism from feminist activists.
  • Responding on X, Petro said he has “learned not to buy sex,” promised he would someday explain the visit and argued the disclosures highlight what he calls U.S. arbitrariness.
  • The move follows OFAC’s sanctions placing Petro, his wife and son on the “Lista Clinton,” along with Washington’s September decertification of Colombia’s counternarcotics efforts.
  • Separate Colombian investigations into alleged 2022 campaign finance violations continue, while his son Nicolás faces trial for illicit enrichment and money laundering.