Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro’s Visa has been Revoked by the United States
The State Department called Petro’s statements “reckless and incendiary actions” that incite violence.
The U.S. State Department announced Friday that it is revoking the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro for urging U.S. soldiers “to disobey orders and incite violence” at a rally in New York.
The Withdrawal of Petro’s Visa, Violates UN Immunity Rules, According to the Colombian President
Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded to the United States on Saturday by saying that the revocation of his visa, announced Friday by the State Department, violates international law and diplomatic immunity, and therefore believes the UN headquarters cannot remain in New York. “What the United States government is doing to me breaks all the immunity rules on which the United Nations and its General Assembly are based. Presidents who attend the Assembly have total immunity, and the United States government cannot influence the opinion of the United States,” Petro wrote on his X account.
According to Petro, “the fact that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was not allowed entry” to the United States to address the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, and “the fact that my visa was revoked for asking the US and Israeli army’s not to support genocide, demonstrates that the US government no longer complies with international law.” “The United Nations headquarters cannot remain in New York,” the president added upon returning to Colombia, where he stated: “I arrived in Bogotá and found that I no longer have a visa to the United States.”
The U.S. State Department announced Friday night that it was revoking Petro’s visa for urging U.S. soldiers “to disobey orders and incite violence” during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to speak at the UN. “This morning, Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressed U.S. soldiers on a New York City street, urging them to disobey orders and incite violence. Because of these reckless and provocative actions, we will revoke Petro’s visa,” the State Department said last night in X.
According to Petro, the revocation of his US visa doesn’t matter to him because he doesn’t need it since he also has Italian citizenship and can travel with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which exempts him from the visa requirement. “I don’t need a visa, but an ESTA, because I’m not only a Colombian citizen but a European citizen, and I truly consider myself a free person in the world,” the president added.
