The former rebel turned president is ready to take on Trump

BOGOTA, Colombia – Only a few leaders dared to confront the president Donald Trump Publicly like a boss Gustavo Pietro From Colombia.

While many have acted cautiously since Trump took office, Petro has sparked outrage, blocking deportation flights, demonstrating in the streets of Manhattan, urging American soldiers to disobey orders and accusing the United States of “killing“For their attacks on ships in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

It was announced on Tuesday Suspension of all intelligence sharing With the United States as long as the ship attacks continue.

Trump responded by calling Petro an “illicit drug trafficker,” and his administration revoked his visa and placed him on a sanctions list generally reserved for… Major criminals and human rights violators.

For Petro, a former combatant during Colombia’s long and brutal internal conflict, rebellion is nothing new.

Those who know him describe him as a man driven by his convictions:

A A strong critic of corruption and inequality Who became the most combative face of the Colombian left.

That same drive, they say, is now fueling his willingness to confront Washington, even as his government is paralyzed at home by persistent violence, scandals and cabinet turmoil.

For his fans, his showdown with Trump represents the biggest fight in history crusade Decades against the powerful.

To its critics, it is a Reckless display of ego It reveals a leader more concerned with projecting himself as a global moral hero than governing effectively in his own country.

Colombian Ambassador in Washington Daniel Garcia PeñaHe praised Petro for leading the necessary discussions on the global stage.

“I think he is on the right side of history,” he said at his home in Bogotá after Pietro briefly called him for consultations during the recent diplomatic dispute.

“In my opinion, he was very brave because he had the courage to stand up for his beliefs and express his opinion.”

But former Education Minister Petro, Alejandro GaviriaHe, who resigned in early 2023 after opposing the government’s proposed health measure, stated that while he may have “genuine concern” for humanity, he did not “understand the consequences… Effects Nor the effects on Colombia.

This tension between ambition and diplomacy characterized his recent confrontation with Washington.

The United States canceled his visa last September, after he urged American soldiers, during a rally in support of Palestine in New York, to disobey Trump.

Since then, the Trump administration has intensified a campaign to destroy ships and kill crew members, whom it accuses of drug smuggling.

Many legal experts described it as an execution outside the scope of the judiciary.

The attacks began in the Caribbean, but spread to the eastern Pacific Ocean and affected ships that, according to Petro, They transported the Colombians.

After accusing the United States of killing a Colombian fisherman, Trump threatened to reduce aid and impose customs duties, and accused Petro of… Drug lord It imposed some of the harshest sanctions in the US arsenal on Petro, his family, and his interior minister.

This confrontation won Petro praise from the global left, but alarmed many at home, where Colombia depends on the United States for trade cooperation and the fight against drugs.

Critics say so does his approach to foreign policy More ideological than realism.

According to Gaviria, Pietro believes that he “expresses truths that no one else expresses.”

Former Minister of Environment, Suzana MuhammadHe stated that caution was never Petro’s style.

“His entire political career was built on risk,” he said.

“Walking to the edge to drive change, to create tension, to reveal what is really going on.”

The son of a government auditor and a housewife, Pietro joined the M-19, a leftist militia, when he was 17, terrified by the poverty near his home on the outskirts of Bogotá.

The smaller Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which operated from rural strongholds and raised money through drug trafficking, attracted the M-19. Urban students, activists and artists who challenged what they saw as the elite oligarchy.

The group attempted to cultivate an image of robin hood, Stealing milk from tankers and distributing it to poor neighborhoods.

Although less brutal than other rebel groups, it carried out one of the bloodiest actions in Colombia’s decades-long internal conflict:

The siege of the National Judicial Building in 1985, which left 94 people dead in clashes with the police and the army.

Pietro, who was imprisoned at the time for his membership in the M-19 movement, was not involved and said he was. Torture in prison.

He later helped negotiate the group’s peace agreement with the government in 1990, transforming M-19 into a political party that helped draft the 1991 Colombian Constitution, which emphasizes equality and human rights and is considered one of the most successful byproducts of the peace process.

Petro soon entered Congress, where he gained notoriety for exposing corruption Links between paramilitary groups and politicians; The revelations led to dozens of charges, but they also earned him powerful enemies in a country polarized by a complex war between left-wing militias, right-wing paramilitaries and the state.

He won the admiration of progressives and the distrust of conservatives, who never gave up their belief that, deep down, Petro was a real man. An uncompromising leftist rebel.

In a country where class hierarchies are literally codified — neighborhoods are ranked from one to six, from poorest to richest — Pietro challenged Colombia’s hereditary elite.

He embraced his outward-looking image, wearing jeans and open-necked T-shirts, and quoting FoucaultHe presents himself as an intellectual and a man of the people.

like Mayor of Bogota Between 2012 and 2015, he cut public transportation prices and water subsidies for the poor, cementing his progressive reputation but frustrating critics who saw him as an idealist unconcerned with the day-to-day demands of running a sprawling, chaotic city.

In 2022, he won the presidency, becoming Colombia’s first left-wing leader, marking a milestone in one of the most intense presidential elections. governor From Latin America, which captured global attention.

He has promised profound social and economic transformations, but his critics claim he has not kept his promises.

While he pushed for land redistribution and environmental initiatives, his commitment to achieving lasting peace in a country torn by decades of bloodshed faltered, and his popularity declined.

His conservative critics denounce his guerrilla past and rapprochement with Venezuela’s authoritarian government, and criticize him for giving former combatants an official role in the peace process.

Disappointment spread even to the left.

“His administration has been a disaster,” said María Jimena Duzan, a prominent Colombian journalist who supported his candidacy.

“Their policies — many of which are really good and innovative — were never implemented.”

Known for his bold initiatives and authoritarian tendencies, he often clashed with his advisors, including García Peña, who resigned as director of international relations over the dismissal of another official, calling Petro an “autocrat.”

Later, Petro appointed him ambassador to the United States.

Pietro’s long, often digressive speeches — sometimes steeped in conspiracy theories — deepen the perception of a presidency adrift.

He has warned of an alleged Dubai-based criminal network targeting him, which police say lacks conclusive evidence.

In a lengthy letter to Trump in January, he mentioned the singer “the black neighborhoods in Washington.” Paul SimonTo the Egyptian pharaohs and their experiences with gastritis.

Duzan wondered if drug use was the reason behind his long absences and incoherent posts on social media.

A former minister also publicly accused him of drug use.

Pietro denied this, saying: “My only addiction is coffee.”

His supporters say efforts to portray him as eccentric or incompetent are part of a coordinated response by political and media elites resentful of his power.

But while Petro has long been a target of elites, he goes further and “feels like everyone is constantly after him,” said Federico Gomez Lara, director of the Colombian political magazine. It changes.

Petro’s confrontation with Trump left Colombians divided over whether to confront or appease Washington.

García Peña argued that the policy of appeasement had failed in other countries, and stated that insurgency Di Pietro earned him admiration at home and abroad.

However, Gaviria confirmed that anxiety is spreading among Bogotá’s leaders.

“There is a feeling that the environment is becoming increasingly unstable,” he said.

“Petro no longer has limits.”

Officials are keen to downplay the importance of the dispute with Trump, describing it as more like a dispute misunderstanding.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Petro was “obsessed with the fight against drug trafficking,” and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti declared that “our greatest failure was our inability to convey this message to Trump.”

But Gomez Lara believes the president enjoys the conflict.

“Gustavo Pietro was always guided by the logic of confrontation,” he said.

“It needs an enemy to function.

First it was the paramilitary forces, then the political class, then Netanyahu,” he said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Now it’s Donald Trump,” he said.

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