BOGOTA, Colombia

Diplomatic tensions between the US and Colombia escalated this week, culminating in both nations recalling their top diplomatic envoys.

On Friday, Alfredo Saade, head of the Colombian presidential office, said he US had initiated the process of revoking visas for Colombian government officials who were formerly members of the demobilized M-19 guerrilla group, to which President Gustavo Petro once belonged.

The crisis began on Thursday when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio summoned his acting charge d'affaires at the Colombian Embassy in Bogota, Mark John McNamara, for "urgent consultations" to discuss the "baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Colombian government."

In retaliation, Colombian President Petro announced he was recalling his top diplomat in Washington. Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena "must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda," he wrote on X.

Speaking on Thursday, Petro asserted that he would not "bow down or let himself be pressured" by the US.

The diplomatic dispute unfolded just hours after the resignation of Colombia's foreign minister on Thursday.

Colombia, once a close US partner in Latin America, has seen its ties with Washington deteriorate recently.

This week, Colombian prosecutors launched an investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow President Petro with the purported involvement of Colombian and US politicians. This investigation follows the publication by the Spanish daily El País of recordings that allegedly implicate former Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva.

"This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and apparently, the Colombian and American extreme right," Petro said last week. He linked US Congressmen Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart to what he termed an "international operation" aimed at destabilizing his government. Both lawmakers have rejected these statements. Gimenez responded, labeling Petro as "a corrupt, pathetic, incompetent drug addict and a pawn of dictator Nicolas Maduro."

In January, the US briefly suspended consular services in response to Petro's refusal to permit US military planes to repatriate Colombian migrants after Petro criticized the US for treating migrants like "criminals," alleging they were placed in shackles and handcuffs. During that dispute, both presidents Trump and Petro threatened to impose trade tariffs of up to 50%.

More recently, Colombia's government also declined a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders sought by Washington on alleged drug trafficking charges.
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