‘I don’t care’: Colombia president Petro hits back after US revokes his visa
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, has dismissed the US decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care. I don’t need a visa … because I’m not only a Colombian citizen but a European citizen, and I truly consider myself a free person in the world,” Petro said on social media on Saturday.
“Revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the US no longer respects international law,” he added in a post on X.
A UN inquiry said Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide but Israel has repeatedly denied genocide charges and says it is acting in self-defence.
Petro addressed pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside UN headquarters in New York during the UN general assembly on Thursday, calling for a global armed force with the priority to liberate Palestinians, and urged US soldiers “not to point their guns at people. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”
The state department posted on X that it would revoke Petro’s visa “due to his reckless and incendiary actions”.
Colombia’s foreign affairs ministry said using visa revocation as a diplomatic weapon goes against the spirit of the UN, which protects freedom of expression and guarantees the independence of member states at UN events.
“The UN should find a completely neutral host country … that would allow the organisation itself to issue authorisation to enter the territory of that new host state,” the ministry said.
Petro is not the first Colombian president to have his US visa revoked. In 1996, the then president Ernesto Samper’s visa was canceled over a political scandal involving allegations that the Cali drug cartel had funded his presidential campaign.
Relations between Bogotá and Washington have frayed since Donald Trump returned to office. Earlier this year, Petro blocked deportation flights from the US, prompting threats of tariffs and sanctions. The two sides later reached a deal.
In July, both countries recalled their ambassadors after Petro accused US officials of plotting a coup, a claim Washington called baseless.
Petro cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 2024 and banned Colombian coal exports to the country.
theguardian