Overview

• The State Department announced on X that it will revoke Gustavo Petro’s visa, calling his conduct “reckless and insurrectionary” and alleging he urged soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.
• Video shared by Petro shows him at a pro‑Palestine protest outside the UN telling U.S. troops, “Disobey Trump’s orders” and “follow the orders of humanity.”
• Petro said he had already returned to Bogotá and downplayed the significance of losing the visa, noting he can travel using an EU passport.
• Colombian officials criticized the action, with Interior Minister Armando Benedetti denouncing it and the Foreign Ministry accusing the U.S. of using a “diplomatic weapon” in violation of the UN Charter.
• The decision follows weeks of fraying ties that include the U.S. dropping Colombia as an anti‑drug partner and Petro’s UN denunciations of Trump and recent U.S. maritime strikes, and the State Department provided no further evidence with its announcement.