In brief
The United States has revoked the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro following his incendiary remarks at a pro-Palestinian protest in New York, where he urged US soldiers to disobey President Trump. The State Department condemned his comments as reckless, with Petro's actions intensifying the already strained relations between his leftist government and Washington. The controversy highlights ongoing tensions over US military actions in Colombia and the broader geopolitical dynamics involving drug trafficking.
The US has said it will revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa, after he urged US soldiers to disobey his American counterpart Donald Trump during remarks at a rally in New York.
The State Department described Petro's comments at a pro-Palestinian street protest on Friday as 'reckless and incendiary.'
The Colombian leader was in the US for the UN General Assembly, where earlier this week he called for a criminal inquiry into the Trump administration's airstrikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
He was already on his way back to Bogota when the US announced it would cancel his visa, Colombian media reports.
Petro shared a video on social media of him addressing a large crowd through a megaphone in Spanish on Friday. He called for the formation of a 'world salvation army, whose first task is to liberate Palestine.'
'That is why, from here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the United States Army not to point their rifles at humanity,' he said. 'Disobey Trump's order! Obey the order of humanity!'
Petro added: 'As happened in the First World War, I want the young people, sons and daughters of workers and farmers, of both Israel and the United States, to point their rifles not toward humanity, but toward the tyrants and toward the fascists.'
The US State Department strongly criticised the remarks, stating that he had 'urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.' It wrote on social media that the revocation of his visa was due to his 'reckless and incendiary actions.'
Colombia's Interior Minister Armando Benedetti expressed his discontent on X, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visa should have been annulled instead of Petro's, arguing that the US protected Netanyahu while targeting Petro for speaking out.
Relations between Petro, who leads Colombia's first-ever left-wing government, and the Trump administration have worsened in recent months. Petro used his speech at the UN to deliver a scathing indictment of US strikes on boats suspected of drug trafficking, contending they were part of a campaign of violence to dominate Colombia and Latin America.
He stated that some of those killed by the strikes could have been Colombian and accused US officials of colluding with drug gangs while his government was working to eliminate coca production.
Petro characterized the airstrikes as an 'act of tyranny' in a BBC interview.
Washington contends these actions are part of a US anti-drug operation off the Venezuelan coast, which the US accuses of harboring a drug cartel.
The US has also denied visas to Palestinian leaders, blocking their participation in the UN General Assembly, which typically allows world leaders access to its headquarters regardless of their diplomatic relations with the US.
