Washington moved to strip Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa after he accused Trump of “genocide” and urged US soldiers to defy orders during a pro-Palestinian rally.
Washington / New York / Bogotá — The United States has revoked the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, following a series of inflammatory remarks he made at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City this week.
During the rally, Petro urged American soldiers to “disobey orders” and went further, accusing President Donald Trump of being “complicit in genocide” in Gaza. The explosive comments, made while he was on U.S. soil for the UN General Assembly, triggered swift condemnation in Washington.
The U.S. State Department announced the decision Friday, confirming the revocation in a sharp post on X (formerly Twitter), signaling zero tolerance for a sitting head of state openly inciting insubordination within the American military and spreading anti-Israel propaganda.
A Diplomatic Earthquake
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has often aligned himself with anti-Israel rhetoric, but his remarks in New York crossed a red line. By calling America’s support for Israel “genocide” and effectively encouraging mutiny among U.S. forces, he undermined not only Colombia’s relations with Washington but also his credibility on the world stage.
Analysts say this is one of the rare cases in which a U.S. administration has publicly sanctioned a sitting foreign leader for rhetoric deemed dangerous to national security and hostile to Israel.
Israel in the Crosshairs
Petro’s remarks reflect a growing trend among certain leftist Latin American leaders who use the Palestinian cause as political theater while ignoring Hamas’s massacres, kidnappings, and rocket fire against Israeli civilians. For the U.S. and Israel, Petro’s words represent more than bluster—they are a diplomatic insult at a time when both allies are engaged in an existential fight against terror.
Fallout in Bogotá
It remains unclear how Petro’s government will respond, but critics at home have already blasted him for jeopardizing Colombia’s crucial ties with Washington, its largest trading partner and key security ally. For Israel, the move demonstrates that the U.S. is finally drawing hard lines against anti-Israel incitement at the highest levels.
