Colombian President Gustavo Petro asks US Army to ‘disobey Trump’ — Washington revokes his visa

The United States on Friday (Sep 26) said it would revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa over what it called "reckless and incendiary actions" during a pro-Palestinian street protest in New York. Announcing the action in an X post, the US State Department said that Petro stood on a New York City street and "urged US soldiers to disobey" President Donald Trump's orders and attempted to "incite violence". This comes after Petro, on his social media, posted a video of himself addressing a large crowd and asking the United States Army "not to point their rifles at humanity".

Did Gustavo Petro ask the US army to disobey Trump?

According to the US State Department post, "Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence".

"We will revoke Petro's visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," it added.

In a video Petro posted on his social media account, Petro can be heard talking to a large crowd, addressing them in Spanish. His translator then relays his comment in English, calling on the "nations of the world" to contribute soldiers for an army "larger than that of the United States."

"That is why, from here in New York, I ask all soldiers in the United States Army not to point their rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump's order! Obey the order of humanity!" added the Colombian president.

How could the visa revocation affect Petro?

If the US revokes Petro's visa, it would not impact the Colombian president, as he's already on his way back. As per Colombian media, on Friday night, Petro was already on his way back to Bogota. He was only in the US for the UN General Assembly, where he rebuked the Trump administration sharply. In his UNGA address, he even called for a criminal case against Trump and a probe into the recent US strikes on boats in international waters near Venezuela.

Petro, whose nation is the world’s largest cocaine producer, insisted the US strikes disproportionately hit "young people who simply wanted to escape poverty". “A criminal process must be initiated against those officials who are from the United States. This includes the senior official who gave the order, President Trump,” he declared. The US claims that these boats were involved in drug trafficking and were on their way to "poison" Americans.