Particle.news
Download on the App Store
35 ARTICLES
·
10m ago

U.S. Revokes Visa for Colombia’s President After New York Protest Remarks

The rare step marks an escalation in already strained U.S.–Colombia relations.

On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where he sharply denounced the Trump administration and urged for a criminal probe into recent US raids on accused drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
Image
Colombian President Gustavo Petro addresses pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside U.N. headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2025.
Musician Roger Waters, addresses pro-Palestinian demonstrators alongside Colombian President Gustavo Petro, at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside U.N. headquarters during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2025. REUTERS/Bing Guan

Overview

  • State Department officials said on X they would revoke Gustavo Petro’s visa for “reckless and incendiary actions” after he told a pro‑Palestinian crowd outside the U.N. that U.S. soldiers should disobey President Donald Trump.
  • Petro’s remarks included a call for an international force to free Palestinians and an appeal for troops to “not point their rifles at humanity.”
  • Colombian media and Petro’s posts indicate he returned to Bogotá stating he no longer had a U.S. visa, dismissing the penalty and citing his European citizenship and claimed U.N.-related immunity.
  • Interior Minister Armando Benedetti criticized Washington’s move, asserting Petro was punished for denouncing what he called genocide against Palestinians and accusing the U.S. of shielding Benjamin Netanyahu.
  • In his U.N. address earlier in the week, Petro accused Trump of being complicit in genocide in Gaza and called for criminal proceedings over U.S. strikes on suspected drug‑running boats, adding to this year’s disputes over deportations and counternarcotics cooperation.