©️AFP
New York, 27 September 2025.- On Friday, 26 September, the United States cancelled the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, sanctioning his participation in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York. State Department Accused of« incitement to violence » after calling on US soldiers to disobey Donald Trump's orders. This decision accentuates an already tense relationship between Bogotá and Washington.
Unpublished sanction against a current Head of State
The US State Department announced the revocation of President Gustavo Petro's visa, present in New York for the UN General Assembly. In a message posted on X, Washington justified the measure by the words judged « Unruly and incendiary » of the Colombian leader, who had urged the American soldiers to « disobey Trump's orders » and « Obey those of humanity ».
On Friday, Petro addressed thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters, promising to submit a resolution to the UN to create a « world rescue army » responsible for « free Palestine ».
Relations already degraded with Washington
This sanction occurs in a tense diplomatic climate. At the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations, the Colombian President had already frontally attacked Donald Trump, calling for a « criminal procedure » After American strikes in the Caribbean, accused of killing more than a dozen unarmed young people.
In parallel, the Trump administration recently revoked Colombia's certification as an ally in the fight against drugs, a sign of a bilateral relationship in sharp decline.
Reactions and Controversies
Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti denounced a « injustice »considering that Benjamin Netanyahu should have had his visa revoked « rather than the only president who dared to tell the truth to the empire ».
Although Petro also has an Italian passport, which theoretically allows him to travel to the United States without a visa, he returned to Bogotá on Friday night.
W.A.
