U.S. Revokes Visa for Colombian President Gustavo Petro

Reuters

Colombian president Gustavo Petro addresses the UN general assembly in New York.

The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it would revoke the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro over what it described as his “reckless and incendiary actions” during a pro-Palestinian street protest in New York.

The department stated that Petro had publicly urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and “not point their rifles at humanity,” prompting Washington to take the unprecedented step of revoking his visa. Petro, speaking through a megaphone to a large crowd, also called on nations worldwide to contribute to an army “larger than that of the United States.”

Petro had been in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, where he criticised the Trump administration and called for a criminal inquiry into recent U.S. strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, which the administration says were part of anti-drug operations. Petro claimed some of those killed were unarmed Colombians.

Following the announcement, Colombian media reported that Petro was already returning to Bogota. The move marks a significant deterioration in US–Colombia relations under Petro, Colombia’s first-ever leftist president, after the Trump administration recently decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drugs.

Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti criticised the decision on social media, arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have faced visa revocation instead, while Petro was punished for speaking truthfully to U.S. leadership.

Source: The Guardian



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