US Revokes Colombian President Petro’s Visa After Controversial NYC Speech
New York, Sept. 27 — The United States has announced it will revoke the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro following his comments urging US soldiers to disobey orders and resist military directives. The State Department condemned Petro’s actions as “reckless and incendiary.”
Earlier today, Petro spoke to a large crowd on a New York City street during his visit to the UN General Assembly. Addressing the crowd through a megaphone, he called on “nations of the world” to contribute soldiers to an army “larger than that of the United States.” He specifically told US Army personnel, “Do not point your rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump’s order! Obey the order of humanity!”
A source from the Colombian president’s office confirmed to AFP that Petro planned to return to Bogota on Friday night. Petro has also stated that, as an Italian citizen, he does not require a US visa to enter the country.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Colombia. During his UN address on Tuesday, Petro criticized recent US strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, claiming that more than a dozen unarmed “poor young people” were killed. Washington, however, maintains that the strikes are part of anti-drug operations targeting Venezuela, whose government it accuses of running a cartel.
The US recently sent eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean, its largest deployment in years, raising concerns of a potential Venezuelan invasion. Petro, whose country is the world’s largest cocaine producer, has suggested that some victims of the US strikes may have been Colombian citizens.
Relations between the US and Colombia, historically close allies, have deteriorated under Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president. Last week, the Trump administration decertified Colombia as a partner in anti-drug efforts, though economic sanctions were not imposed.
In response to the visa revocation, Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti criticized the decision on social media, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visa should have been revoked instead. “But since the empire protects him, it’s taking it out on the only president who was capable enough to tell him the truth to his face,” Benedetti wrote.
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