“The United Nations headquarters cannot continue to be in New York,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X on September 27. The US State Department revoked Petro’s visa of after the head of state gave a speech denouncing Israel’s genocide at a pro-Palestine protest near the convening of the UN General Assembly.

“Now they will try to turn my free and human opinion into a crime,” Petro wrote. The Colombian leader has taken a strong stance against the Israeli war on Gaza throughout his presidency.

“What the US government is doing to me breaks all the norms of immunity on which the functioning of the United Nations and its General Assembly is based,” Petro wrote. Petro highlighted how 80 Palestinian officials were denied entry into the United States for the General Assembly.

Petro also wrote on X: “You know that international laws grant me immunity to go to the UN and that there should be no reprisals for my free opinion, because I am a free being.” The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the revocation of a visa goes against the spirit of the UN charter, which protects the right to free speech and expression. Such an action makes it “essential to find a completely neutral host country” for the United Nations, based on “the understanding that diplomatic rules of immunity and access take precedence over common migration policy.”

“Colombia reiterates that speaking out to denounce acts that affect the Palestinian population cannot be interpreted as an act contrary to the law, but rather as a moral and political obligation in the face of possible serious violations of international humanitarian law and the human rights of that population,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Petro had spoken at a pro-Palestine rally in front of the UN headquarters in New York City on Saturday. The rally was the conclusion of a march of thousands from Times Square to the UNGA to call for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had addressed the General Assembly that morning.

“I ask all the soldiers of the United States Army not to point their guns at humanity,” Petro said during his speech at the protest. “Disobey the orders of Trump. Obey the orders of humanity.”

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