BOGOTA

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that 20,000 Colombian students in Argentina were "literally deported" after Argentine President Javier Milei decided to end free education for foreigners.

"They are literally expelled from that country, for them there was no so-called ‘freedom,'" Petro wrote on X.

Petro said Colombia would accept the students and ensure that they could continue their education in Colombia without obstacles and free of charge.

Milei, who pledged radical changes in Argentina during his election campaign, previously announced that his government would eliminate free education and health care.

*Alperen Aktas contributed to the from Istanbul