The United States has announced plans to revoke the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, citing what it described as his “incendiary actions” during a pro-Palestinian protest in New York.
The U.S. State Department said Petro used a street demonstration on Friday to call on American soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump’s orders and incite unrest.
“Earlier today, Colombian President @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence. We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions,” the department posted on X.
Videos shared by Petro on social media showed him addressing a large crowd with a megaphone, urging soldiers to “obey humanity” instead of U.S. directives. He also called for the creation of an international army “larger than that of the United States.”
A source in Petro’s office confirmed he was returning to Bogotá Friday night. The Colombian leader later noted that he also holds Italian citizenship and would not require a U.S. visa to travel.
Petro was in New York for the UN General Assembly, where earlier in the week he harshly criticized the Trump administration and demanded an investigation into recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean. He claimed the attacks killed more than a dozen unarmed youths, possibly including Colombians. Washington has maintained the operations were part of its anti-drug campaign targeting Venezuela.
Relations between Washington and Bogotá have sharply deteriorated under Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president. Last week, the Trump administration decertified Colombia as an ally in the drug war, though it stopped short of sanctions.
Colombia’s Interior Minister, Armando Benedetti, reacted on X, arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visa should have been revoked instead, accusing Washington of shielding its allies while punishing Petro for “telling the truth.”
