U.S. to Revoke Visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro Over Controversial Remarks

 

The United States has announced its decision to revoke the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, following remarks he made during a recent protest in New York City.

The announcement was made via the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the U.S. Department of State. According to the statement, President Petro called on American soldiers to defy orders from their superiors, which the Department described as “reckless and incendiary.”

"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 post read.

The controversial statement was made during Petro’s appearance at a pro-Palestinian protest held outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City. While addressing the crowd, President Petro stated:

“I ask all the soldiers of the U.S. Army not to point their guns at humanity. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”

The comments have sparked significant backlash, both domestically and internationally. Critics argue that the President’s remarks were an inappropriate interference in the internal affairs of the United States and potentially incited unrest within the military ranks.

This is not the first time a Colombian leader has faced such diplomatic action. Former President Ernesto Samper, who led the country from 1994 to 1998, had his U.S. visa revoked in 1996 over allegations that his campaign received funding from the Cali drug cartel.

Public Reactions

The announcement has generated a wave of reactions on social media:

• Babatunde Owa commented, “In his speech while he was in the USA, he appealed to U.S. soldiers to disobey their president’s orders. He was looking for trouble.”

• Kange Andrew wrote, “Donald Trump is the only president who knows how to deal with world leaders who support terror-related activities.”

• Nuraieyn added, “They will lie to you about democracy and freedom of speech just to steal your lands.”

• Tyson offered a different view: “Soldiers by law are supposed to disobey unlawful orders anyway. The President of Colombia was simply reiterating U.S. law to only obey lawful orders.”

As of now, President Petro has not issued an official response to the U.S. government’s decision.