US revokes Colombian president's visa over remarks at pro-Palestine protest
The United States said it would revoke Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro's visa after he addressed a pro-Palestine demonstration in New York and called on US soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders.
"We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," the State Department posted on X.
Speaking outside the UN headquarters on Friday, Petro called for a global armed force with the priority to liberate Palestinians.
"This force has to be bigger than that of the United States," he said.
"That's why from here, from New York, I ask all the soldiers of the army of the United States not to point their guns at people. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity," Petro said.
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Petro, Colombia's first leftist president and a vocal opponent of Israel's war in Gaza, has said he has Italian citizenship and would not need a visa to enter the United States.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Petro fiercely rebuked the Trump administration, saying that the US president is "complicit in genocide" in Gaza.
The Colombian president also called for a criminal inquiry into recent US strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean that killed unarmed "poor young people".
Petro said he suspects that some of those killed in the boat strike were Colombian.
The Trump administration has been cracking down on pro-Palestine voices while countries including France, Britain, Australia and Canada have recognised a Palestinian state.
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