The Kaipher Editorial Team 
LEONARDO MUNOZ / AFP – Getty Images
The United States announced Friday it would revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa, citing his “reckless and incendiary actions” during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City where he urged American soldiers to disobey President Trump’s orders.
Protest Outside UN Headquarters
Speaking in Spanish through a megaphone to pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside UN headquarters, Petro called for the formation of a global armed force “larger than that of the United States” to liberate Palestinians. In footage shared on his social media accounts, the Colombian leader declared: “That’s why from here, from New York, I ask all soldiers of the army of the US not to point their rifles at humanity. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity!”
The demonstration took place while Petro was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He was joined by Roger Waters, the controversial Pink Floyd co-founder, with the duo posing for photographs beside a large Palestinian flag. Petro later posted a video with Waters captioned “Free Palestine. If Gaza falls, humanity dies”.
The State Department responded swiftly, stating on social media: “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”.
Petro struck a defiant tone after learning of the visa revocation while returning to Bogotá. “I arrived in Bogotá. I no longer have a visa to travel to the USA. I don’t care,” he wrote on social media early Saturday. He added that as a European citizen, he would not require a visa but could instead use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) for entry into the United States.
The Colombian president criticized the U.S. decision, saying it “breaks all the norms of immunity on which the functioning of the United Nations and its General Assembly is based”. He argued that the visa revocation stemmed from his condemnation of what he characterized as Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, asserting this reflects America’s failure to adhere to international law.
Colombia’s Interior Minister Armando Benedetti criticized the move, suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visa should be 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 said.
The visa revocation represents a dramatic escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Colombia’s first leftist president. Earlier this week during his UN General Assembly address, Petro accused Trump of being “complicit in genocide” in Gaza and called for “criminal proceedings” against the president over deadly U.S. strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.
The relationship between Washington and Bogotá has deteriorated significantly since Petro took office in 2022. Earlier this year, tensions flared when Petro initially blocked U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants, though Colombia later reversed course and accepted the deportees following threats of economic retaliation. Last week, the Trump administration decertified Colombia as an ally in the fight against drugs, though it stopped short of imposing economic sanctions.
