Gustavo Petro addressing the rally (X/@QudsNen)
In his first response to the United States revoking his visa, Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday accused the Donald Trump administration of violating the norms of diplomatic immunity and declared that its headquarters should be moved out of New York.Also Read – ‘Incendiary actions’: Why is US revoking Colombian president’s visa? All you need to knowWriting on X, Petro said he only discovered after landing in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, that his US visa had been cancelled.“What the US government is doing to me breaks all the norms of immunity on which the functioning of the United Nations and its General Assembly is based. There is total immunity for presidents attending the Assembly, and the US government cannot condition the opinion of the US,” he wrote.The leftist leader also pointed to the State Department’s decision to deny visas to officials of the Palestinian Authority, arguing that these actions show Washington no longer respects international law.“The fact that the Palestinian Authority was not allowed entry and that my visa was revoked for asking the US and Israeli armies not to support a genocide, which is a crime against all of humanity, demonstrates that the US government no longer complies with international law. The United Nations headquarters cannot continue to be in New York,” said Petro, who has led Colombia since August 2022.In a separate post, he mocked US President Donald Trump by calling him “Donald Duck.”Also Read – ‘Bombed unarmed, poor people’: Colombian President blasts Trump for Caribbean strikes; seeks UN criminal probe“Understand that the people are sovereign. My presidency depends on them — on no one else, neither on you nor on Trump. I will not watch Donald Duck again for now, that’s all. I am at peace because I do not support, and I fight against, a genocide. Do you support it?” Petro wrote in response to Sergio Fajardo, a rival candidate he defeated in the 2022 election.Fajardo had earlier criticised Petro’s conduct in the United States, suggesting he should resign and instead “dedicate himself to leading the third world war against Trump and his friends.”What has the US State Department said on revoking Petro’s visa?The US State Department said it had taken note of Petro’s conduct and, as a consequence, was revoking his visa.“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,” the department stated.Petro had been in the United States to attend the UN General Assembly’s High-level Week, which began on September 22 and runs through September 30.
