Stunning twist as world leader who trashed Trump over visa refusal sparks major rift in home country
Colombia's top diplomat was blindsided by President Gustavo Petro's claims he was barred from entering the United States, despite the country's Finance Minister being sent as his proxy to Washington DC this week.
Foreign Relations Minister Laura Sarabia was reportedly 'shocked' that Petro had his travel visa revoked by the Trump administration, Colombian broadcaster La FM radio revealed Tuesday.
The fracture between the leftist president and his top cabinet member over his visa status comes mere weeks after Sarabia met with the US's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Bogata for high level talks on immigration.
Petro, who once formed parted of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group, stunned the South American nation during a meeting with the Council of Ministers on Monday trashing 'Donald Duck' for revoking his visa to travel to the US.
He said Finance Minister Germán Avila would take his place at meetings of the spring meetings for of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent berated the organizations for vanity projects like climate change.
Avila, another former member of the 19th of April Movement, is expected to attend a meeting for Latin America's finance ministers and central bank governors at the IMF headquarters on Friday, April 26.
'I can't go anymore because I think they've revoked my visa,' Petro said this week.
'I didn't need a visa, but hey, I've seen Donald Duck several times. So, I'm off to see other things.'
Sarabia did not publicly comment on the Petro's visa issues when she spoke before the Security Council at the United Stations on Tuesday. Avila also has not responded to the president's claims.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Foreign Relations Ministry and the President's office for comment.
In a statement to DailMail.com on Wednesday, the The U.S. Western Hemisphere Affairs said that 'visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.'
Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to get into the specifics of Petro's claims during Tuesday's press briefing.
'Of course, we don't speak about direct individual visa issues. We – visa records are confidential for everyone. But we are aware of the reports; we're aware of what he said,' said Bruce, while highlighting both countries' efforts to combat drug trafficking and boost each others economies.
In the event that Petro's visa was cancelled, the Department of State would have formally communicated its decision.
However, sources with knowledge of Petro's marks told La FM that the Department of State never did so.
The last Colombian President who had his United States travel visa revoked was Ernesto Samper in July 1996.
Samper, who ruled from 1994 to 1998, was accused of accepting at least $6 million from drug cartels to fund his campaign.
A Colombian Red Cross worker speaks with a Colombian migrant, who was among the 201 who were deported from the United States, upon arrival at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, on January 28
Petro previously visited the United States in September 2024 for a climate conference in Chicago, as well as the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Petro has clashed with the Trump, who threatened 'decisive retaliatory measures' against government officials over Petro's refusal to let two United States military flights full of migrants land in January.
The Colombian leader slammed the Trump administration for the treatment of 160 people, who were handcuffed on the planes
Trump snapped back by threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on incoming good and visa restrictions and sanctions and vowed to increase the tax by an additional 25 percent.
Petro responded by announcing U.S. imports would be face a 25 percent tax before he eventually backed down and agreed to accept the migrants.
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