Merve Aydogan
11 June 2026•Update: 11 June 2026
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday criticized US restrictions on his travel to New York as “undemocratic” after a planned meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a lecture in Boston were canceled.
His current entry into the US was restricted solely to attending a UN Security Council session, which Colombia is presiding over this month.
According to a report by The New York Times, US officials told Colombian counterparts that a meeting with Mamdani could violate those conditions.
In a post on the US social media platform X, Petro said he was never informed of any conditions attached to his visa and only learned of the restrictions as they were being enforced.
He said the cancellation of the meeting with Mamdani and the withdrawal of an invitation to speak in Boston violated his freedom of expression and thought.
“It is undemocratic to prevent me from meeting a local US official or delivering an academic address,” Petro said.
“Our constitutions are founded on freedom, democracy, and sovereignty,” he added.
The US State Department revoked Petro's visa last year after he addressed a pro-Palestinian rally in Manhattan, where he called on US soldiers to disobey presidential orders.
Despite his objections, Petro said he accepted the restrictions to allow Colombia to exercise what he described as its “earned global leadership” at the UN Security Council.
On counter-narcotics efforts, Petro said Colombia had seized more cocaine than the previous three governments combined and certified nearly 9,000 hectares of voluntary coca eradication involving 31,000 farming families.
He said those efforts reflected commitments reached during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Petro also objected to what he described as US interference in Colombia's upcoming electoral campaign, saying decisions about the country's political future belong solely to the Colombian people.
