The United States said it would revoke the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro after he took to the streets of New York on Friday at a pro-Palestinian demonstration and called on American soldiers not to follow President Donald Trump's orders.
“We will revoke Petros’ visa due to his reckless and provocative actions,” the State Department wrote in X.
Petro, speaking to a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters outside the UN headquarters in Manhattan, called for a global armed force with the liberation of the Palestinians as a priority, adding: “This force must be bigger than that of the United States.”
"Therefore, from here, from New York, I ask all soldiers of the United States Army not to point their weapons at people. Do not obey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity," Petro said in Spanish.
Reuters could not immediately confirm whether Petro was still in New York. His office and Colombia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Clashes at the UN over the war in Gaza
The Trump administration has cracked down on pro-Palestinian voices, while countries such as France, Britain, Australia and Canada have recognized a Palestinian state - moves that have angered Israel and its ally, the United States.
Petro, Colombia's first leftist president and a vocal opponent of Israel's war in Gaza, attacked Trump in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, saying the US leader was "complicit in genocide" in Gaza and demanding "criminal prosecution" for US missile attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the Assembly on Friday, condemned Western countries that have embraced the idea of Palestinian statehood, accusing them of sending the message that "killing Jews is rewarded."
Israel began its assault on Gaza after an attack led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Since then, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and displaced the entire population of the tight-knit enclave.
Many human rights experts say this constitutes genocide, a charge that Israel angrily denies, saying the war is self-defense./ Reuters
