The US Department of State said Friday that it will revoke the US visa held by left-wing President Gustavo Petro.
The State Department said in a post on X that the revocation was due to Petro’s “reckless and incendiary actions.”
What do we know so far?
Petro is in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier on Friday, he told a group of protesters in New York that US soldiers should “disobey the orders of Trump” and “Obey the orders of humanity!”
Those comments seem to be the last straw for US President ‘s administration. Under the US Constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the US mlilitary.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Petro strongly criticized the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug-trafficking . The Colombian president even went so far as to say that Trump should face “criminal proceedings” over the killings.
Petro, who took office in August 2022, is also a strong critic of Israel’s military campaign in , putting him at odds with the Trump administration. , meanwhile, has said the Colombian government is failing to meet its “drug control obligations.”
Petro in standoff with Trump administration over deportees earlier this year
Earlier this year, Colombia blocked two US military planes which were transporting deported migrants from landing on Colombian territory. Petro was not happy with the treatment of Colombian deportees by the Trump administration.
In retaliation, the Trump administration revoked visas for Colombian officials and even announced 25% tariffs on Colombia, a major coffee producer. In response, Petro announced tariffs on US goods.
That standoff was ended when then-Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced Colombia would take back its citizens. Trump then announced of the punitive measures on Colombia.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
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