Colombian President Gustavo Petro has fired back at Washington after the U.S. revoked his visa, accusing the Biden administration of trampling international law and silencing criticism
of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The State Department announced the move Friday, citing Petro’s participation in a pro-Palestinian rally in New York, where he not only joined demonstrators but urged American soldiers to defy orders from President Donald Trump.
Petro, never one to mince words, brushed off the decision.
“I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care. I don’t need one,” he wrote on X. “I’m not just Colombian, I’m European too. Above all, I’m a free citizen of the world. Revoking my visa for denouncing genocide only proves the U.S. no longer respects international law.”
Israel rejects accusations of genocide in Gaza, insisting its campaign is a matter of self-defense following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assault that left 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 250 taken hostage. But images of starving children and mass civilian casualties have fueled outrage worldwide. According to health officials in Gaza, more than 65,000 people have been killed and the enclave’s entire population displaced. A U.N. inquiry and several rights experts have described Israel’s actions as genocidal.
Outside U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, Petro went further, calling for the creation of an international armed force to liberate Palestinians. He urged American soldiers “not to point their guns at people. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”
Washington called those remarks “reckless and incendiary” and said they crossed a line.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry shot back, saying the U.S. was abusing its power by weaponizing visas against a sitting head of state. “This contradicts the very principles of the United Nations, which guarantee freedom of expression and the independence of member states,” the ministry said. It even suggested the U.N. should consider moving its headquarters to a neutral country.
This isn’t the first time a Colombian leader has clashed with Washington over visas. In 1996, President Ernesto Samper was barred from the U.S. after accusations his campaign was bankrolled by the Cali drug cartel.
But relations have rarely been as strained as they are now. Since Trump’s return to office, Petro has blocked deportation flights, accused U.S. officials of plotting a coup, and cut ties with Israel while banning Colombian coal exports there. Both countries recalled their ambassadors this summer after a war of words.
For Petro, the revoked visa seems less like a punishment and more like another badge of defiance. Photo by USAID, Wikimedia commons.
