After Gaza Flotilla, Petro Pushes Colombia Into A Full Break With Israel—And A Test With The U.S.

Bogotá / Brasília — Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, has turned a long-running dispute into a full rupture.

After Israel’s navy intercepted a flotilla trying to reach Gaza, Petro said two Colombian activists were detained and announced two steps: expel all remaining Israeli personnel from Colombia and start the process to end the countries’ free trade agreement.

Here’s the simple version. Colombia already cut diplomatic ties with Israel in May 2024, but some consular and cooperation staff kept limited functions. Petro now wants them gone too. On trade, the agreement cannot vanish overnight.

By its own rules, Colombia must send a formal note and wait six months for the termination to take legal effect. In practice, the economic hit is narrow but real because most Colombian sales to Israel are coal; the broader economy is unlikely to feel much.

The second track is Washington. Days before the flotilla episode, the U.S. revoked Petro’s visa after he spoke at a pro-Palestine rally in New York urging U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump’s orders.

Petro waved off the move, saying he can travel on European documents, and several ministers renounced their visas in solidarity. Still, it’s a rare and sharp signal from a security partner that has shaped Colombia’s military and counternarcotics policy for decades.

Petro’s Break with Israel Redraws Colombia’s Foreign Policy Lines

The story behind the story is a steady hardening. In 2024, Petro broke relations with Israel. In 2024–2025, he pushed to halt coal exports there. Also, in September 2025, he called for a multinational force to “liberate Palestine” and urged U.S. troops to defy orders.

Now, after the flotilla, he is closing what remained of official contact with Israel and starting the legal wind-down of the trade pact. Why this matters beyond Colombia: it shows how the Gaza war is redrawing political lines far from the Middle East.

For Colombians, it could complicate travel and legal cooperation with Israel and chill parts of trade. For the region, it tests how much space a Latin American leader has to confront Washington and still preserve practical ties.