MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia expels Argentina's diplomatic mission over Milei statements against Petro

Milei spoke ill of “the respected Mr Gustavo Petro,” Bogota's Foreign Ministry argued

Gustavo Petro ordered all of Argentina's diplomatic staff in Colombia expelled after derogatory remarks against him by fellow President Javier Milei during an interview with CNN. The Libertarian leader called him a “murderer, terrorist,” given his past as a M-19 guerrilla fighter. Colombia also withdrew its Ambassador from Buenos Aires.

“The Foreign Ministry, on behalf of the government of Colombia, repudiates statements made by Mr. Javier Milei, president of Argentina in an interview to CNN channel, in which he expresses himself in a denigrating way against the first magistrate of Colombians, the respected Mr. Gustavo Petro,” Bogotá said in a statement.

“It is not the first time that Mr. Milei offends the Colombian president, affecting the historical relations of brotherhood between Colombia and Argentina. The Argentine president's expressions have deteriorated the trust of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of President Petro, who was democratically elected,” the document went on.

“In this context, the Government of Colombia orders the expulsion of diplomats from the Argentine embassy in Colombia. The scope of this decision will be communicated to the Argentine embassy through institutional channels,” the Foreign Ministry also pointed out.

In an interview with Andrés Oppenheimer to be aired on March 31 on CNN en Español, Milei called Petro a “terrorist murderer”. In his words, “not much can be expected from someone who was a terrorist murderer”, according to the previews of the interview granted to the international network.

Asked about Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (AMLO)comments against him, Milei replied “That an ignoramus like López Obrador speaks ill of me is flattering.”

“If the good thing was Kirchnerism, I tell him that, in the nineties, the Argentinean had an average salary of 3,800 dollars, which today would be 3,000 dollars, and today the average salary in Argentina is 600 dollars, exaggerating,” Milei went on as he lashed out against AMLO and his Morena Party's presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum.

“The populism that they so much ponder to the Argentines cost them 80% of their income and has brought the number of poor people to more than 50% and 10% of indigent people. The State [due to fiscal pressure] takes the food of 280 million people, and there are 5 million Argentines who cannot afford to eat,” Milei said.

Clashes between Milei and Petro date back to before the Libertarian's electoral victory. Last year and while still a candidate, Milei stated on a Colombian radio station that “a socialist is garbage,” and “human excrement.” Petro replied on X the following day: “That's what Hitler said.” After Milei's win, Petro said it was a “sad moment for Latin America.”

In January, Petro recalled Colombia's ambassador in Buenos Aires Camilo Romero after Milei called him a “murderous communist.”

Last month, Milei said in Washington DC that Petro was “sinking Colombians.” He added that the leftwing leader was “a lethal plague” for his countrymen.

”They attack us as communists, socialists (...) And those who attack us have no idea what communism or socialism is,” Petro argued at the time.