©️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Unpublished sanction against a current Head of State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.
