The US State Department withdrew Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa for “reckless and inflammatory actions” after he urged American soldiers to defy orders.
What did the Colombian president say?
President Petro called for a “world salvation army” to liberate Palestine and urged soldiers to “not aim their rifles at humanity.”
“Do not follow Trump’s orders! Follow humanity’s orders!” he declared. “Just as in World War I, I want young people—the sons and daughters of workers and farmers from Israel and the US—to point their rifles not at humanity but at tyrants and fascists.”
Donald Trump supports Israel, and his administration approved nearly $12 billion in military equipment sales and accelerated $4 billion in military aid to Israel. However, the US president recently stated that Israel cannot annex the West Bank.
Petro’s response to the visa revocation
“What the US government is doing violates all principles of immunity on which the United Nations and the General Assembly operate,” Petro said, citing Article 105 of the UN Charter, which grants representatives and officials of UN member states “privileges and immunities necessary for the independent exercise of their functions related to the organization.”
He argued that revoking his visa for urging US and Israeli armies to “not support genocide” shows that “the US government no longer respects international law.”
