US to revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa for 'reckless' acts

By Oscar Medina

 

The US said it will cancel Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa, saying the Andean leader incited violence and called for American soldiers to defy orders.   

“We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions,” the US Department of State said in a post on X.

 

Petro appeared in New York City streets in protests against the Palestine conflict, calling on US soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump, according to footage released by the Colombian presidential office. The office didn’t immediately reply to a message seeking comment.

 

The move marks an escalation in tensions between the two countries since US President Donald Trump “decertified” Colombia this month in America’s fight against drug trafficking.

 

Petro’s “conduct has steered Colombia towards international isolation, placing at serious risk its relationship with a strategic ally,” said Mario Carvajal, a political analyst at consultancy IDDEA. “Yet Petro seems less concerned with the country’s long-term interests than with engineering confrontations that reinforce his anti-system rhetoric and, in one way or another, secure for him a degree of international prominence.” 

The Colombian leader has been one of the harshest critics against the war in Palestine, breaking diplomatic ties with Israel. He’s accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “genocidal” and has banned exports to the country.

 

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Petro launched a wave of criticism against the US that included saying the war against drugs had failed, calling for investigations of Trump for operations in the Caribbean allegedly attacking drug traffickers, and condemning America’s support of the Israel offensive in Palestine.

 

Colombia’s decertification as a partner in the effort to combat drug trade puts the longtime US ally in the same category as Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The decision came amid the biggest cocaine boom in history, with most of the world’s soaring production originating in Colombia. 

 

Colombia will hold presidential elections next year and many investors expect the country to shift to the right and usher in more market-friendly policies.