The US announced on Friday that it would cancel Colombian President Gustavopetro’s visa.
Previously clashing with the Trump administration over issues of immigration and drug trafficking, Petro reiterated his appeal for troops to “free Palestine” while addressing a group of pro-Palestinian supporters outside the United Nations headquarters on Friday.
“It (the global force) must be bigger than that of the US. So from here on, from New York, I ask all the soldiers of the US military to not point to their rifles,” Peter said in a video posted on social media.
“I won’t follow Trump’s orders. I will follow humanity’s orders,” he added.
The US State Department later said in a post X: “Today, President of Colombia (Gustabopetro) stood on NYC Street and urged the US military to incite violence against orders.
“He will cancel Peter’s visa due to his reckless and inflammatory actions.”
In response, Peter said the US decision “breaks all norms of immunity based on the function of the United Nations and its general assembly.”
“The fact that Palestinian authorities are not allowed to enter and that my visa has been revoked by the US and Israeli forces that do not support genocide, a crime against all humanity, shows that the US government is no longer in compliance with international law,” he posted on X.
Peter was in New York and spoke at the UN General Assembly, where he set his sights on Trump directly, saying he was “conspired with the genocide” of Gaza.
Last week, an independent UN investigation first concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza for the first time, the Israeli government strongly denied.
CNN has contacted the US Department of State for further details.
Colombia’s Caracol Radio reported that Peter was already on a flight to leave the United States when the State Department announced it would cancel his visa.
In his speech at the United Nations, Peter also called for a “criminal lawsuit” against the fatal strikes of drug traffickers in international waters around South America.
The Colombian president has a rocky relationship with the White House this year. In just a week of Trump’s second term, Petro blocked two military flights of deported migrants in the US, accusing the US of treating Colombian immigrants like criminals. Colombia later agreed to accept the exile and deployed its own plane to help return home.
The Andes were previously the most reliable ally in national security and defense in South America in Washington.
