U.S. Revokes Petro Visa After New York Protest

The U.S. State Department revoked Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s U.S. visa on Sept. 26 after he joined a pro‑Palestinian street demonstration in New York during U.N. week, where he urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and called for nations to contribute fighters and a volunteer force to fight in Gaza, framing the appeal as a humanitarian duty and speaking alongside activists including Roger Waters. Washington called the remarks “reckless and incendiary,” said they amounted to incitement to disobey lawful commands, and said the visa action bars his re‑entry to the United States. Petro condemned the revocation as a breach of diplomatic immunity, said he was returning to Bogotá, noted he also holds Italian citizenship, and called for relocating the U.N. headquarters. The decision deepens a diplomatic rift amid prior strains — including U.S. decertification on counternarcotics, Bogotá’s suspension of U.S. arms purchases, disputes over deportation flights and tensions over U.S. strikes on suspected drug‑trafficking vessels. Some Colombian officials defended Petro and suggested other world leaders should face similar scrutiny. The visa revocation is being treated as a dramatic low point in the long‑standing security partnership even as Colombia remains a Major Non‑NATO Ally of the United States.