Bogotá (AFP) – Colombia's President Gustavo Petro published his bank statements this week to disprove Washington's allegations of financial crimes, only to find himself in hot water at home after the records revealed a strip club visit.
Petro has been targeted by US sanctions, accused of drug trafficking and money laundering in a long-running war of words with US president Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, Petro opened up his financial transactions to public scrutiny.
They revealed a $50 payment at a strip club in Portugal during an official trip in May 2023, inviting the wrath of Colombian women's rights groups.
"How is it possible that we have a sexual exploitation crisis in Colombia and at the same time a president who frequents such places?" asked Sara Jaramillo of the Medellin Abolitionist Network, which advocates for the elimination of exploitative sex work.
Petro's response to the criticism invited even more ire on social media.
"There are two things I've learned in life: not to sleep with a woman for whom I feel nothing in my heart and not to buy sex when I'm still capable of seduction," the president wrote on X in a message deemed tone deaf.
Colombian courts have in the past ordered the president to apologize for "stigmatizing" comments against women after he referred to critical female reporters as "dolls of the mafia" in one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in South America.
Historical allies, Washington and Bogota have seen diplomatic relations sour since Trump took office for a second term in January.
He has accused Colombia's first-ever leftist leader, without evidence, of being an "illegal drug leader" and revoked Colombia's certification as an ally in the fight against narcotics trafficking.
Petro said on X he will explain "some day" why he was at the Menage strip club in Lisbon. During the trip he also visited Belem Palace to meet with Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
"For now, all I want is that everyone who examines my accounts can see the arbitrariness being committed against Colombia," he said of the US actions.