The United States has revoked the visa of Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro following his public remarks during a pro-Palestinian protest in New York, the State Department confirmed on Friday.
The decision came after Petro, already returning to Bogota from New York, made statements urging US soldiers to disobey orders, prompting Washington to describe his actions as “reckless and incendiary.”
Earlier this week, Petro compared the Trump administration’s airstrikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea to an “act of tyranny” in an interview with the BBC.
On Friday, speaking to a large crowd through a megaphone, Petro called on “nations of the world” to contribute soldiers for an army “larger than that of the United States.”
"That is why, from here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the United States Army not to point their rifles at humanity," he said.
"Disobey Trump's order! Obey the order of humanity!"
The US State Department condemned Petro’s remarks, posting on X: “Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence. We will revoke Petro's visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”
Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti criticised the decision, suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visa should have been revoked instead.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 on X.
Petro, whose country is the world’s largest cocaine producer, has also questioned US airstrikes, saying he suspects some of the victims were Colombian. Washington maintains the strikes were part of an anti-drug operation off Venezuela’s coast, whose government it accuses of cartel involvement.
Since Petro became Colombia’s first left-wing president, relations with the Trump administration have deteriorated, and the visa revocation adds to the tension.
Washington similarly denied visas for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 Palestinian officials, preventing their attendance at this week’s UN General Assembly in New York.