Colombia’s president has dismissed Washington’s decision to cancel his visa, saying “revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the US no longer respects international law”.
It comes after the state department announced on Friday it would cancel Gustavo Pedro’s visa over “incendiary actions” at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York.
Speaking outside the United Nations on Friday, President Petro called for a global armed force with the priority of liberating Palestinians.
Mr Petro, who appeared at the rally alongside Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, said in Spanish that the force “has to be bigger than that of the United States”.
“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.”
The US state department said in a post on X that it will “revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions”.
But Mr Petro has now responded, saying: “I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care.
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“I don’t need a visa… because I’m not only a Colombian citizen but a European citizen, and I truly consider myself a free person in the world,” the Colombian leader said on social media.
“Revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the US no longer respects international law,” he added on a post on X.
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Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide in Gaza, where it has been engaged in a war with Hamas since October 2023.
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More than 65,000 people have died since Israel began its campaign in the territory, with more than 167,000 others wounded, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said women and children make up around half the fatalities.
Israel’s military action was a response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage, 48 of whom are still in Gaza.
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Colombia’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that using visa revocation as a diplomatic weapon goes against the spirit of the UN, which protects freedom of expression and guarantees the independence of member states at UN events.
“The UN should find a completely neutral host country… that would allow the organisation itself to issue authorisation to enter the territory of that new host state,” the ministry said.
