The Colombian government has a new casualty resulting from an ongoing diplomatic dispute with the U.S. State Department. Key members of the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro are having their visas revoked in the wake of their president’s recent visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City last week.
Today, the U.S. State Department announced that Juan Florián, Colombia’s recently appointed Minister of Equality, was also having his A-1 visa revoked after traveling as part of the Colombian delegation to the 80th U.N. General Assembly.
The delegation was caught in hot water after President Petro delivered an outdoor speech to a small crowd, where he railed against the U.S. handling of the Israeli occupation of Gaza. The president made controversial remarks after he implored members of the U.S. military to disobey orders by the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, “I ask all the soldiers of the United States’ army, don’t point your rifles against humanity, disobey the order of Trump, obey the orders of humanity.”
Petro’s statements came in the wake of his official speech before the United Nations General Assembly on the 23rd, in which he called upon the international body to establish an international army to intervene in Gaza, saying, “I invite the armies of Asia, the great Slavic people who defeated Hitler with great heroism, and the Latin American armies of Bolívar… We’ve had enough words; it’s time for Bolívar’s sword of liberty or death”, Petro argued.
Hours after Petro’s statements on a New York City street, urging U.S. service members to disobey President Trump’s orders, the State Department posted on its X account: “Earlier today, Colombian president [Gustavo Petro] stood on an NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.” The U.S. State Department called Petro’s comments “reckless and incendiary actions”.
The events created a firestorm when Petro landed in Bogotá as he confirmed the reports of his visa revocation, dismissing the U.S. actions, stating, “I no longer have a visa to travel to the U.S. I don’t care. I don’t need a visa”.
Critics of the Petro government, which has not been without its low points with the new U.S. administration, expressed their humiliation of the Colombian government, while supporters of the left-wing former rebel fighter congratulated the president for his courage in the face of the “North Americans” and for defending those in Palestine.
On Monday, the 29th, one day after the public scolding of the Colombian president, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio “renounced” her U.S. visa in protest of the U.S. revocation of President Petro’s credentials.
Villavicencio said in a statement that she is not interested in “diplomatic visas that limit opinions” or curtail the nation’s “sovereignty.” Finance Minister of Colombia, Germán Ávila, also voluntarily renounced his visa in solidarity with President Petro, writing on X, “To work for our people, we do not need visas”, adding, “We will not bow before aggression.”
The Petro government has been critical of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, accusing the Israeli government of “genocide”, while accusing the U.S. government of being complicit in the bloodshed.
The verbal onslaughts from Bogotá towards the administration in Washington have ramped up in recent weeks as the Petro government has also condemned the Trump administration’s recent actions targeting suspected drug traffickers in the South Caribbean. Petro has vowed his support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela, recently conducting military exercises with his South American neighbor.
