BOGOTÁ, Oct 2 — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the expulsion of all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country, citing Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and the reported detention of two Colombian activists.
BOGOTÁ, Oct 2 — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the expulsion of all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country, citing Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and the reported detention of two Colombian activists.
Petro said two Colombian women, Manuela Bedoya and Luna Barreto, who were “carrying out humanitarian solidarity work with Palestine,” were detained by Israeli forces in international waters. His office demanded their immediate release, noting they were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed that “several vessels” from the flotilla had been “safely stopped” and redirected to an Israeli port.
Although Petro severed diplomatic ties with Israel last year, four Israeli diplomats had remained in Bogotá, a source at the consulate told AFP. Writing on X, Petro said he was expelling “the entire diplomatic delegation of Israel,” condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for committing what he described as “a new international crime.”
The Colombian president also announced the termination of a free trade agreement with Israel that has been in effect since 2020.
A fierce critic of Netanyahu, Petro has repeatedly accused him of “genocide” and has also attacked US President Donald Trump as an “accomplice” to it.
Just last week, Petro joined a pro-Palestinian protest in New York, urging the US military to “disobey” Trump. In response, Washington revoked his visa. — AFP
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