Since losing his US visa for comments he made at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City, Colombian president Gustavo Petro has not backed down.
After Israel illegally intercepted the boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla on October 1, Petro immediately denounced the kidnapping of two Colombian citizens aboard and ordered the expulsion of the entire Israeli diplomatic delegation from his country. He also announced that Colombia would move to abrogate its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Israel, a legally difficult process that his government has already begun.
The move to cancel the FTA put Petro once again at the vanguard of a global movement to end Israeli impunity. Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal response to the October 7 attacks, Colombia’s first left-wing president has done more than any other world leader to pair his condemnations with concrete actions. Pushed from below by a powerful Palestinian solidarity movement in Colombia, Petro has severed diplomatic ties with Israel, suspended the purchase of Israeli weapons, and banned the export of coal to the country.
For these moves, Petro has been hailed as a model around the world. Nevertheless, as interviews with Colombian Palestinian solidarity activists reveal, there is still much to be done if the country is to completely sever economic, cultural, and political ties with the genocidal state. To do so, the administration will have to confront the strict regulations of international financial institutions, investor courts, and governmental bodies, as the fights over the coal ban and FTA reveal.
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attacks, Petro quickly established himself as a leader with a clear moral vision on the issue of Palestine. He forcefully denounced Israel’s dehumanization of the Palestinians, denounced Israeli terrorism, and decried the West’s double standard in supporting Ukraine while denigrating Palestine. Petro’s response — informed by Israel’s own role in
Auteur: Abigail Kret
