President Gustavo Petro used his opening speech at COP30, which is taking place in Brazil, to launch a harsh attack against his American counterpart, Donald Trump. The Colombian president exploded over Trump’s rudeness in not attending the multilateral climate change event.

Petro held nothing back and asked for a strong punishment for the North American leader: “Today, literally, Mr. Trump is against humanity by not coming here; Trump shows it, he is against humanity. What do we do then? Leave him alone, forget him. Forgetfulness is the greatest punishment”expressed Gustavo Petro.

The Colombian president took advantage of his intervention to urge “global progressivism” to focus on life and not on “fossils”, and to propose a “concrete proposal with 500 billion dollars” of investment for Latin America and the Caribbean, coming from various powers.

Diplomatic tension and visa revocation

This new attack is framed in a context of high diplomatic tension between the two leaders, which escalated after Petro’s intervention at the recent UN General Assembly.

In that meeting, Petro described the military attacks by the United States and Israel in the Gaza Strip as a “genocide” against the Palestinian population. Later, during a social demonstration in New York, the Colombian president recommended that American soldiers disobey the instructions of Donald Trump’s Government regarding military actions in the Middle East.

This reckless and inflammatory action, according to the US State Department, provoked an immediate response: “We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and inflammatory actions,” was the message sent by the State Department.

Despite the sanctions, Petro has assured that he will attend the UN Security Council in New York next year. Faced with the controversy, the president recalled that American restrictions are not a total impediment to his trip, thanks to his Italian ancestry.

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“I no longer have a visa to travel to the US. I don’t care. I don’t need a Visa but THIS, because I am not only a Colombian citizen but also a European citizen”said Petro.

His paternal grandfather, Francesco Petro, immigrated from southern Italy in 1870, granting him Italian citizenship and allowing him to enter the United States without a visa, only requiring an electronic travel authorization (ESTA).

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