Colombia’s Foreign Minister Drops U.S Visa After Petro's Revocation
(MENAFN) Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio announced on Monday that she would relinquish her U.S. visa in a gesture of solidarity with President Gustavo Petro, whose visa was revoked following his critical remarks about Israel's actions in Gaza during the UN General Assembly in New York.
In a statement to the press in Bogotá, Villavicencio emphasized, "We do not accept that a foreign power decides who can speak or attend international forums on behalf of the Colombian state. The dignity of our nation is not negotiable."
Villavicencio described her decision as a political statement in defense of Colombia’s sovereignty, asserting that the U.S. revocation of Petro's visa represented a breach of international diplomatic standards and an infringement on his immunity. "Our sovereignty does not kneel. Colombia demands respect," she wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
The foreign minister reaffirmed that Colombia would continue its independent participation in global forums, pointing out that under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement, the U.S. is obligated to ensure entry for all official delegations.
Villavicencio also accused Washington of violating UN General Assembly protocols by unilaterally revoking Petro's visa. She defended the Colombian president's statements at the UN, calling them not incitements to violence, as claimed by the U.S., but urgent calls to stop "a genocide affecting humanity."
In a final note, Villavicencio suggested considering a neutral country to host the UN headquarters, a move she believes would strengthen multilateralism.
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