On a brisk September afternoon in New York City, as world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly, Colombian President Gustavo Petro took to the streets outside the UN headquarters, joining thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. The protests coincided with a highly charged speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inside the Assembly, where he insisted Israel must be allowed to "finish the job" in Gaza—a conflict that has drawn global condemnation and accusations of genocide from several quarters, including Petro himself.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has never shied away from controversy, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On September 26, 2025, he delivered an impassioned address to the crowd, declaring Colombia’s intention to present a resolution to the UN that would establish a "World Salvation Army." This force, he said, would be larger than the U.S. military and its initial mission would be nothing less than the "liberation of Palestine." According to an unofficial translation quoted by Presidencia Colombia, Petro called for nations to contribute soldiers to this global army, which would "enforce the orders of international justice."
Addressing American soldiers directly, Petro’s words were blunt: "I ask all of the soldiers of the army of the US not to point their guns at humanity. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity." This plea, delivered alongside British musician Roger Waters, quickly reverberated across social media, sparking outrage in Washington and setting off a diplomatic firestorm.
The very next day, September 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced via social media that it was revoking Petro’s U.S. visa. In a terse post, the Department cited his "reckless and incendiary actions"—specifically, his public urging of U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump’s orders—as grounds for the decision. "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 statement read.
Petro, who had already returned to Colombia as planned, responded with characteristic defiance. Upon learning of the visa revocation, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care. 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." He added, "Revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the U.S. no longer respects international law." Petro further asserted, "International law grants me immunity to go to the UN and that there should be no reprisals for my free opinion, because I am a free person."
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also weighed in, condemning the use of visa revocation as a diplomatic weapon. In a statement, the ministry argued that such actions "go against the spirit of the U.N., which protects freedom of expression and guarantees the independence of member states at U.N. events." The ministry even suggested that the UN should consider relocating its headquarters to a more neutral country, one where the organization itself could authorize entry for member states’ leaders, free from host country political interference.
Petro’s critics in Washington, including officials in the Trump administration, viewed his remarks as not only inappropriate but dangerous. The State Department’s statement accused him of inciting violence and undermining the authority of the U.S. president. The White House, when asked whether the visa ban would affect Petro’s future attendance at UN events, referred back to the original announcement, leaving the matter unresolved.
The diplomatic spat is the latest—and perhaps most dramatic—in a series of escalating tensions between the United States and Colombia since Petro’s election in 2022. Relations have grown increasingly strained as Petro has charted an independent, often confrontational foreign policy. In 2024, he severed diplomatic ties with Israel, denouncing what he called the "genocidal" actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. He compared Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians to the Holocaust and, in July 2025, reimposed a total ban on Colombian coal exports to Israel, declaring that Colombia "will not be complicit" in what he described as genocide.
Petro’s criticism has not been limited to Israel. In his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 23, he called for criminal proceedings against the United States over air attacks on boats in the Caribbean, which Washington has said were involved in drug trafficking. He accused President Trump of violating the founding principles of the UN and called for a more democratic location for the organization’s headquarters, suggesting Doha as an alternative to New York.
U.S.-Colombia relations have been further tested by disputes over drug enforcement and immigration. Earlier in 2025, Petro resisted U.S. deportation flights using American military aircraft, prompting the Trump administration to threaten tariffs and visa restrictions. Although Colombia eventually relented, the episode left a sour taste on both sides. More recently, the U.S. accused Colombia of failing to cooperate with anti-narcotics efforts—a sharp rebuke to a country that has long been a key U.S. ally in the fight against drug trafficking.
For many Colombians, the visa revocation carries echoes of the past. In 1996, then-President Ernesto Samper’s U.S. visa was canceled over allegations of cartel funding in his campaign. But the current dispute is rooted less in scandal and more in principle—at least according to Petro and his supporters, who frame his actions as a defense of international law and human rights.
The Gaza war itself remains a flashpoint. According to Gazan authorities, the conflict has killed 65,000 people and displaced the enclave’s entire population as of late September 2025. Multiple rights experts, scholars, and a U.N. inquiry have described Israel’s campaign as genocide, though Israel has repeatedly denied the charge, insisting it is acting in self-defense after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in over 250 hostages.
Petro’s stance—unapologetically critical of both Israel and the United States—has won him admirers among some in the Global South, but it has also deepened his isolation from traditional Western allies. In his own words, "Genocide is a crime against humanity and humanity must respond, judge, and punish." He remains adamant that "the wisdom of humanity"—as enshrined in international law—will ultimately prevail.
As the dust settles from this latest diplomatic clash, the future of U.S.-Colombia relations remains uncertain. What is clear is that President Petro, for better or worse, is determined to chart his own course on the world stage, undeterred by the prospect of travel bans or diplomatic blowback.
