The government of Colombia accused the United States over the weekend of violating international law by revoking far-left President Gustavo Petro’s U.S. visa after he called for the U.S. military to disobey its commander in chief’s orders.
Officials in Bogotá condemned the decision as a “diplomatic weapon” and as a “violation” of Petro’s free speech rights.
In an official statement, the Colombian Foreign Ministry claimed that “denying or revoking a visa — as a diplomatic weapon — undermines the spirit of the 1945 [U.N.] Charter of on-site participation with the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression regardless of borders.”
“Otherwise, it would be essential to find a completely neutral host country that would allow, regardless of its bilateral relations and political and ideological positions, the Organization itself to issue an authorization to enter the territory of that new host State, in accordance with international law, on the understanding that diplomatic rules of immunity and access take precedence over common migration policy,” the statement read.
The far-left president visited the U.S. last week within the framework of the 80th United Nations’ General Assembly (UNGA), delivering an unhinged speech on Tuesday in which he condemned Israel for allegedly committing “genocide” in Gaza and called upon the U.N. to create a joint multi-national army “for the salvation of humanity” to “free Palestine.” Petro also claimed that President Donald Trump is an “accomplice” of the “genocide” in Gaza and accused him of “murder” over the military strikes against drug-laden vessels in the Caribbean.
On Friday, Petro participated in a pro-Palestine demonstration in New York alongside anti-U.S. and anti-Israel Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and others. Petro, in Spanish and using a megaphone, said to the crowd that he “doesn’t have anything against” against Jewish people and Israel because “some of them are my friends,” and recounted both his past as a member of the Marxist M19 terrorist group and M19’s alleged training and ties with pro-Palestinian terrorist groups.
Petro, referring to his proposal to create an army to “free Palestine,” called upon U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump’s orders and join his proposed army.
“This must be greater than that of the United States. That is why, from here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the U.S. Army not to point their guns at humanity. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity,” Petro said.
Hours later, the U.S. State Department announced that it would revoke Gustavo Petro’s U.S. visa over his “reckless and incendiary actions” in New York.
Petro returned to Bogotá on Saturday morning and claimed in a social media post that he “doesn’t care” that he no longer has a U.S. visa because he does not need one, but rather needs an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), given that he is “not only a Colombian citizen but also a European citizen, and in reality, I consider myself a free person in the world.”
“Colombia reiterates that speaking out to denounce acts that affect the Palestinian population cannot be interpreted as an act contrary to the law, but rather as a moral and political obligation in the face of possible serious violations of international humanitarian law and the human rights of that population,” the Colombian Foreign Ministry said.
Petro appears to have spent much of his weekend ranting on social media against Trump and America’s decision to revoke his U.S. visa, as well as responding to criticism by Colombian journalists and Congressmen of his unhinged remarks. In one such early Saturday morning post, Petro said he hopes that the “people of Israel rise up against a government that defends a genocide.” In another post, he said that he “won’t be watching Donald Duck again, for now, that’s all.”
“If the U.S. military is unable to support the decisions of international justice, then it is up to the U.N. to establish an army capable of liberating Palestine,” Petro wrote on Sunday in a post critical of President Trump’s decision to authorize the deployment of troops in Portland, Oregon.
In a separate Saturday post, Petro published a lengthy rant against President Trump and said that “those responsible for this genocide are trying to shelter” under the U.S. president.
“Your wife, Mr. Trump, or your daughters, should tell you that it is not right to kill babies. My daughters tell me that,” Petro wrote. “I respect your family, and I told you that I would have a whiskey with you, despite my gastritis, at your house or mine, or wherever you want, but talking to you as an equal, as men, and without lies. You did not answer me. Get rid of your advisors, see humanity clearly and what is happening. You don’t make America great by killing defenseless babies.”
“Missiles should not be fired at the civilian population of Gaza. Missiles should not be fired at poor young people working for drug traffickers or at farmers trying to survive. Missiles should not be fired at migrants who leave because they cannot bear poverty. Migrants are not criminals and do not deserve the death penalty; to do so is a crime against humanity,” he continued, and urged Trump to “steer away from Hitler.”
On Sunday, Petro wrote, “Revoking the visa is not an act against Petro, but against the United Nations and against the struggle for the life of humanity.” Minutes later, he announced that he will lead a government rally “for dignity and democracy” in the western Colombian city of Ibagué on Friday. The event’s flyer features a cutout of Petro at the New York rally on Friday.
Petro has repeatedly claimed he has Italian dual citizenship, which he allegedly obtained through his paternal great-grandfather. Petro also claims that his dual-citizenship would allow him to travel to the U.S. by means of an ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program — when in reality, and much like a U.S. visa, the United States can deny or revoke ESTA applications at its own discretion.
Petro has publicly threatened to renounce his Italian citizenship if Europe keeps “supporting the genocide in Gaza.” On Monday morning, former Colombian Interior Minister Daniel Palacios announced that he had sent a formal letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to review Petro’s citizenship status over his “open support to narco-terrorist groups.” Palacios served as interior minister during the preceding administration of conservative former President Ivan Duque.
Members of Petro’s inner circle, such as controversial Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, published messages and videos in support of Petro. Juan Carlos Florían, Petro’s equality minister and a man who identifies as “female,” published a graphic on Instagram that reads, “dignity does not need a visa to enter anywhere in the world.” Petro also published a letter from the Legal Secretary to the President Augusto Ocampo in which he, in the name of “dignity,” voluntarily renounced his U.S. visa.
Similarly, former mayor of Medellín Daniel Quintero published a video in support of Petro and wrote, “Trump revoked his visa. He can take mine, too.” Deputy State Secretary Christopher Landau responded to Quintero saying, “at your service” and accompanied the text with a picture of “The Visa Snatcher,” a meme that Landau has used when revoking visas of individuals affiliated with foreign dictatorships or anti-U.S. regimes.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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