The U.S. has revoked Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa after his pro-Palestinian protest remarks.
Officials accused Petro of urging American soldiers to disobey orders and inciting unrest in New York.
The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it revoked the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, citing his “reckless and incendiary actions” during a pro-Palestinian protest in New York.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, was already en route to Bogotá on Friday night, according to Colombian media reports cited by AFP.
Earlier this week, Petro criticized the Trump administration for its recent airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, describing them as an “act of tyranny” during an interview.
On Friday, Petro was filmed addressing a crowd in New York through a megaphone. Speaking in Spanish, with a translator relaying his remarks, he urged global solidarity against U.S. military actions and made a direct appeal to American soldiers.
“From here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the United States Army not to point their rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump’s order! Obey the order of humanity!” Petro declared.
The State Department swiftly condemned his remarks, accusing him of inciting unrest.
“Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence,” the department wrote on X. “We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”
Colombia’s Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti, pushed back strongly, arguing on X that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have faced U.S. sanctions instead of Petro.
“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.
