The Trump administration revealed on late Friday its decision to cancel Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s US visa, citing “reckless and incitemental lawsuits” in New York City.
The US State Department’s X account noted, “Today, Colombian President @Petrogustavo has stood on NYC Street and urged the US military to incite violence against orders. I will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and inflammatory actions.”
Fox News Digital attempted to contact the Colombian Embassy but did not receive a response before publishing.
The visa revocation follows shortly after the UN General Assembly meeting held in New York City this week.
Online videos show President Petro addressing a crowd during a demonstration against Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier this week, Petro made a passionate plea for criminal investigations into Trump and his administration regarding a deadly strike on a boat in the Caribbean, which the White House stated was carrying drugs.
Petro denounced the actions as “acts of tyranny,” accusing Trump of criminalizing poverty and migration.
He stated, “Criminal lawsuits must be opened against US officials, even if they involve the highest-ranking officials who issued the orders, including President Trump,” referring to the strike, and insisted that the boat’s occupants were not associated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, as the Trump administration had suggested.
Despite the US government’s claims about the boat carrying drugs, passengers contended that they were merely impoverished young Latin Americans with no alternatives.
Petro, a former Marxist guerrilla and Colombia’s first leftist leader, has experienced a tumultuous relationship with Trump since taking office. Back in January, Trump warned of imposing a 50% tariff on all imports from Colombia if Petro did not accept military flights with deported Colombians as part of a broader deportation effort. Petro initially threatened retaliation but later agreed to lift a flight ban.
In April, Petro had claimed during a cabinet meeting that the Trump administration had revoked his travel visa that month. He quipped, “I didn’t have to have it, but anyway, I’ve already seen Donald Duck a few times, so I’ll go see other things.”
