Who is Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, former Marxist guerrilla and country's first leftist leader?

Fox News

28-01-2025

A recent spat publicly carried out this weekend over social media between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro has brought renewed attention to the former Marxist guerrilla turned top political figure.
The U.S. sat on the brink of a trade war with Colombia after Trump turned to his favored geopolitical tool and threatened to impose up to 50% tariffs on all imports from the Latin American country if it did not accept military planes full of deported Colombians as part of Trump's deportation sweep.
The trade war was avoided after Petro apparently agreed to lift his ban on flights full of deported Colombians who had allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, though not before he issued a strongly worded statement in which he threatened to match Trump's tariffs, criticized his "greed" and defended Colombia's sovereignty.
The Colombian president's Sunday diatribe on X in response to Trump is not a new approach for Petro, who has reportedly made a name for himself by being outspoken on social media.
Petro became Colombia's first leftist leader in 2022 after he defeated conservatives by pledging changes that would focus on ending the country's long history of violence, human rights abuses and poverty.
According to The Associated Press, Colombians had long been resistant to left-leaning politicians over concerns they were soft on violence.
Petro's background as a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group before he turned to more traditional political paths, may have played in his favor at home.
Though Petro's election to high office was championed at home, it was met with trepidation by conservatives in the U.S.
Colombia was traditionally considered a top ally to Washington, D.C., in Latin America, and according to a Reuters report, the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement was responsible for a substantial $33.8 billion worth of trade in 2023 – accounting for a quarter of all of Bogotá's exports.
Despite Colombia's reliance on American spending, Petro has pursued controversial diplomatic pursuits that often run counter to Washington's geopolitical agenda.
Since becoming president of Colombia, Petro has restored diplomatic relations with neighboring Venezuela, whose leader, Nicolás Maduro, has been criticized for his ties to top American adversaries, including China, Russia, Iranian proxies in the Middle East and Cuba.
Petro has also taken a hard stance in opposition to Israel and chose the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted into Gaza, to criticize Jerusalem for carrying out "neo-Nazi" acts against Palestinians.
Petro continued his opposition to Israel's war in Gaza over the next 15 months before a ceasefire was reached, in part, by officials now active in the Trump administration – which could indicate further headbutting between the nations' leaders.
"I think many Latin American countries have gotten used to a U.S. presidential administration that doesn't mean what it says or do what is needed for national security," Joseph Humire, an expert on Latin America issues and the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, told Fox News Digital. "President Petro seriously underestimated the resolve of President Trump to secure our border and end the weaponized migration that, for the past four years, has been undermining American sovereignty.
"If President Petro or any government tries to obstruct America's sovereign right to deport criminals than I think they will see similar punitive measures," he added.
It remains unclear what relations going forward between Trump and Petro will look like or how the president was able to get Petro to reverse his position within hours of the Colombian president's furious post on X.
Colombian foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, along with the nation's ambassador to the U.S., Daniel Garcia-Pena, on Sunday announced plans to travel to Washington in the coming days to discuss agreements reached over the weekend to end the impasse and avoid a U.S.-Colombia trade war.