The United States announced late Friday its intention to revoke the visa belonging to Colombian President Gustavo Petro. This decision came after Petro publicly urged American soldiers to defy orders from President Trump during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York.
The State Department, through an official statement on social media, declared its intent to revoke Mr. Petro’s visa, citing his “reckless and incendiary actions.” The statement highlighted that he stood on a New York street, “urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.”
President Petro, who has previously had disagreements with former President Trump, delivered a speech at a protest held Friday directly across from the United Nations building. World leaders were convened there this week for the General Assembly’s annual session.
Speaking in Spanish, Petro asserted in a video published on his office’s official YouTube channel, “We must establish an army more formidable than those of the United States and Israel.” He further indicated his plan to introduce a resolution calling for the United Nations to create an army specifically tasked with helping to establish a Palestinian state.
Mr. Petro has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. During his approximately half-hour speech on Friday to the demonstrators, he drew parallels between what he termed a genocide in the region and the Holocaust.
He passionately appealed, “I ask all the soldiers of the United States Army not to aim their weapons at humanity. Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”
Earlier in the week, during his address to the General Assembly, Mr. Petro had also criticized Mr. Trump, alleging his complicity in genocide. Other nations, including Australia, Britain, Canada, and Portugal, similarly expressed dissent with the Trump administration by officially acknowledging Palestinian statehood just before the United Nations gathering.
Petro had previously stated in April his belief that the Trump administration had already canceled his U.S. visa.
His office did not immediately provide a response to an emailed request for comment regarding the latest development.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has consistently affirmed his position to revoke visas and legal status from individuals engaged in activities deemed contrary to national interest or in opposition to American policies.
Among the notable figures whose visas have been canceled this year by the Trump administration, which has targeted those with “hostile attitudes” toward the United States, is Óscar Arias Sánchez, a Nobel laureate and former president of Costa Rica.
Martín Torrijos, another former president of Panama, and presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana also experienced visa revocations this year. They attributed these actions to their public criticism of recent agreements their country had entered into with Mr. Trump.
Furthermore, a senior State Department official testified in July that his office had been instructed by the Trump administration to scrutinize social media posts of foreign students for any anti-Israel sentiments and to subsequently revoke their visas if found.