Trump Administration Cancels Planned Mamdani Meeting With Colombian President Petro

The Trump administration canceled a planned meeting between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, according to reports. The meeting, intended to take place on the sidelines of UN events in New York, was called off after the U.S. State Department strongly objected to it.

The cancellation comes after a series of problematic statements and actions by Petro, including a “Heil Hitler” post he published last Sunday in response to an opinion piece supporting a right-wing candidate. Colombian officials interpreted the State Department’s position as a threat to arrest Petro if the meeting went ahead. A State Department spokesperson said the meeting would have violated visa restrictions previously imposed on Petro. Those restrictions were imposed after he called on U.S. soldiers to “disobey orders” from President Trump during a protest in New York with Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters. “A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the official said.

Petro, a former rebel leader, is also under investigation by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan on suspicion of ties to drug traffickers. He has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration, including its support for Israel, the bombing of drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, and anti-immigration measures. After the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that Colombia and Petro could be next in his war on drug trafficking. Petro responded at the time with a post saying, “I swore not to take up arms again since the 1989 peace agreement, but for the sake of the homeland, I will take up arms again.”