Far-left President of Colombia Gustavo Petro claimed on Monday the administration of President Donald Trump revoked his U.S. visa but stressed he is at peace with the move as he has “already seen Donald Duck several times.”
Petro levied the claim during the latest meeting of his council of ministers. Petro changed the national policy to mandate the broadcast of these meetings live on Colombian television and over the internet, resulting in an embarrassing debut in February in which the ministers openly attacked each other while Petro mused about ancient Greek eroticism.
Petro asserted during the Monday evening meeting that he can no longer visit the United States because, he claimed, “I think they took away my visa.”
His Finance Minister Germán Ávila is presently in Washington to participate in spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
“Here we have to prepare ourselves for things, minister of finance, who is here replacing Germán Ávila, who is precisely in the United States. I can no longer go because I think they took away my visa. I had no need for a visa, but well, I have already seen Donald Duck several times,” Petro said, without disclosing further details.
Neither the U.S. Department of State nor any other U.S. government officials has publicly commented on Petro’s claims at press time. Colombia’s Radio Caracol reported on Tuesday morning that it was able to verify with the Colombian Foreign Ministry that Petro does have a U.S. visa but “without being very clear about what is really going on with his visa status.”
“In the Foreign Ministry, it was not so clear that this was happening. On the other hand, the Minister of Finance and the Director of Public Credit are at the IMF meetings in Washington,” Caracol reported.
Colombia’s W Radio reported that, according to unnamed Washington sources consulted by the radio station, Petro’s visa is still valid and has not been revoked by U.S. authorities.
Colombia largely maintained decades-long friendly relations with the United States. Petro, a former member of the Marxist M-19 terrorist group and Colombia’s first leftist president ever, has single-handedly caused several diplomatic impasses with the administration of President Donald Trump.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro takes part during an event in the city of Pasto, announcing the destruction of war materials and incorporation in crop substitution programs of the ‘Comunueros del Sur’ in Narino, Colombia, on April 5, 2025. (Camilo Erasso/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Days after Trump took office in January, Petro caused a hours-long diplomatic crisis with the United States after he abruptly refused to accept a U.S. deportation flight of Colombians via a late-night social media post on the grounds that the United States treats “Colombian migrants as criminals.”
President Trump responded to Petro’s actions with a barrage of retaliatory measures, including a 25-percent tariff and visa sanctions on Colombian government officials. Petro responded to Trump’s retaliatory measures in a long, unhinged social media rant where he said he does not enjoy traveling to the United States because “it’s a bit boring.” Hours later, Petro caved and “agreed to all” of President Trump’s terms.
Days after the impasse, Petro refuted claims that he was in a state of inebriation when he published the original social media post that caused the impasse between the countries. Colombian outlets later reported that conservative former President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe Vélez interceded on behalf of the Colombian government and helped defuse the brief diplomatic crisis caused by Petro.
In early April, the Colombian government refuted “incorrect” statements issued by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem following her meeting with Petro in Bogotá in March. Days after her visit to Colombia, Noem explained that the Colombian president asserted to her that members of the Tren de Aragua terrorist organization were “misunderstood people who needed more love and understanding.”
The Colombian Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting Noem’s statements, claiming that Petro’s government has engaged in actions directly aimed at dismantling Tren de Aragua’s presence in Colombia and the capture of its members. Petro then claimed that there was a “misinterpretation with the translation because he does not speak English,” but reportedly admitted that he told Noem that Tren de Aragua members were “excluded” and young people in need of “love and affection.”
Prior to the unconfirmed revoking of Petro’s U.S. visa at press time, the only past Colombian head of state who had his U.S. visa revoked was former President Ernesto Samper in 1996. At the time, the administration of former President Bill Clinton revoked Samper’s visa in response to allegations that Samper had accepted illicit money for his presidential campaign from the Cali drug cartel.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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