Colombian President Gustavo Petro has had his US visa revoked after he urged American troops to defy President Donald Trump’s orders and instead form what he called a “world salvation army.”
The State Department announced the decision Friday, accusing Petro of inciting violence. “He urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence,” the department said in a statement posted online, calling his comments “reckless and incendiary.”
Petro had earlier shared a video of himself addressing a large crowd in New York with a megaphone, where he demanded global solidarity with Palestine. “That is why, from here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the United States Army not to point their rifles at humanity,” he said. “Disobey Trump’s order! Obey the order of humanity!”
He also compared the moment to World War I, urging the “sons and daughters of workers and farmers” in both the US and Israel to turn their weapons against “tyrants” and “fascists.”
The comment sparked swift backlash in Washington, where officials said Petro’s behavior had crossed a line. His comments came just days after he used his UN General Assembly speech to denounce US airstrikes on boats suspected of transporting drugs. Petro argued the operations were not aimed at stopping the narcotics trade but rather about using “violence to dominate Colombia and Latin America.” He suggested some of those killed may have been Colombian nationals and accused US officials of having ties to drug gangs.
In an interview with the BBC, Petro called the strikes an “act of tyranny.” Washington maintains the missions are part of a broader anti-drug effort targeting criminal networks tied to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who US officials accuse of running a cartel.
Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti fired back online after the visa decision, saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have been barred instead. “But since the empire protects him, it’s taking it out on the only president who was capable enough to tell him the truth to his face,” he wrote.
