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Colombia’s De la Espriella to Close 14 Embassies, Cut Ties With Cuba and Nicaragua

By The City Paper Staff - July 27, 2026

Colombia’s president-elect Abelardo De la Espriella announced Sunday, a sweeping overhaul of the country’s diplomatic network, pledging to close 14 embassies and 15 consulates. He also pledged to sever diplomatic relations with Cuba and Nicaragua, and redirect budget cuts toward security and public investment after taking office on August 7. In a video message posted […]

New U.S.-Colombia chapter takes shape as Rubio meets Colombia’s vice president-elect

By The City Paper Staff - July 16, 2026

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Colombia’s Vice President-elect José Manuel Restrepo on Wednesday, signaling what both sides described as the beginning of a new phase in bilateral relations as President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella prepares to take office on Aug. 7. The closed-door meeting at the State Department brought together senior members of […]

Colombia Resets Foreign Policy With Omar Bula as Incoming Foreign Minister

By Richard Emblin - July 9, 2026

Colombia is preparing for one of its most significant foreign policy realignments in more than two decades as President-elect Abelardo De La Espriella assembles a government that promises to restore close strategic relations with the United States and other Western democracies, while distancing the country from the ideological alliances that defined the presidency of Gustavo […]

Trump Endorses De La Espriella, Calls Cepeda a “Radical Left-Wing Marxist”

By Richard Emblin - June 3, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump has thrown his unconditional support behind Colombian hard-right presidential candidate Abelardo “El Tigre” de la Espriella, offering what he described as his “complete and total endorsement” ahead of the country’s June 21 runoff election. The endorsement, published Tuesday evening on Trump’s Truth Social platform, immediately injected an international dimension into Colombia’s […]

Petro to meet Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas, focus on border security

By Richard Emblin - April 24, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro will meet Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Friday to address security challenges along the shared border, marking their first official encounter since Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S special forces on January 3, 2026. The meeting, to be held at the Miraflores presidential palace, is expected to center […]

Colombia – Ecuador rift widens over cross-border bombings

By The City Paper Staff - March 17, 2026

President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuador on Monday of carrying out bombing raids inside Colombian territory, sharply escalating a diplomatic and trade dispute that has been simmering since January. Petro said “27 charred bodies” have been found near the border and suggested the attacks could not have been carried out by illegal armed groups, though he […]

President Gustavo Petro announced Tuesday that his trip to the White House on February 3 will benefit the "life of humanity". Photo: Presidencia

Colombia’s Petro claims U.S. “kidnapped” Maduro during Caracas strike

By The City Paper Staff - January 28, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday that Nicolás Maduro should be returned to Venezuela to face trial in his home country, calling the U.S. military operation that captured the ousted leader in Caracas earlier this month a “kidnapping” that violated Venezuelan sovereignty. “They have to return him and have him tried by a Venezuelan […]

Petro–Trump Phone Call Defuses U.S.–Colombia Tensions

By The City Paper Staff - January 8, 2026

It was a frustrating night for the roughly 6,000 supporters gathered in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar to hear President Gustavo Petro deliver what many expected to be a fiery, anti-imperialist address. After waiting for hours in cold, rainy conditions, demonstrators waved placards reading “Yankee Go Home,” “Out Trump,” and “Respect Colombia,” anticipating a confrontational speech […]

Colombia’s Petro Calls Chile’s President-Elect José Kast a “Nazi”

By The City Paper Staff - December 15, 2025

Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, triggered yet another diplomatic rupture in South America on Sunday after denouncing Chile’s president-elect, José Antonio Kast, as a “Nazi,” rejecting the legitimacy of Chile’s democratic choice and sharply diverging from the cautious language typically observed between regional leaders. Petro’s remarks came within hours of Kast’s decisive victory in Chile’s presidential […]

Colombia’s FM Snubs Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize After Daring Escape

By The City Paper Staff - December 11, 2025

Colombia’s Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio declared Thursday that the Government of President Gustavo Petro is “not in agreement” with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado – a position that signals how Colombia remains a close ideological ally of one of the hemisphere’s most authoritarian states. In remarks that were […]

EU Leaders Ditch Santa Marta Summit With U.S. Sanctions on Petro

By Richard Emblin - November 4, 2025

The upcoming EU-CELAC summit in Santa Marta, billed as Colombia’s most ambitious diplomatic event in over a decade, is now being reshaped by a cascade of cancellations from European leaders following U.S. sanctions against President Gustavo Petro. What was expected to unite more than 60 heads of state from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean […]

Colombian Politicians React to Trump’s Tariff Threat and Aid Suspension

By Richard Emblin - October 20, 2025

U.S President Donald Trump triggered a political firestorm in Colombia after announcing on his social media platform – Truth Social – the immediate suspension of all financial aid and imposition of punitive tariffs on Colombian exports. The decision came after he branded President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader.” Trump’s extraordinary statements mark one of […]

Medellín’s Gutiérrez clamps down on transnational mafias, bolsters U.S. ties

By The City Paper Staff - October 1, 2025

Medellín mayor Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez launched a crackdown on transnational mafias operating in Parque Lleras, vowing the city “will not be a refuge” for crime. He also met U.S. envoy John McNamara, strengthening security and trade ties as Colombia’s national government faces strained relations with Washington.

Senior cabinet members have been barred from U.S. after Petro’s defiant rally near Times Square, New York. Photo: X/MinCultura.

Mass visa revocations strip Petro’s cabinet of access to U.S

By Richard Emblin - September 30, 2025

Colombia’s confrontation with Washington escalated after the United States revoked President Gustavo Petro’s visa over incendiary remarks in New York, prompting key ministers to declare they would forfeit their own visas and leaving much of the government without the possibility of entering the United States.

Petro Implodes U.S-Colombia Relations With Final UN Speech

By Richard Emblin - September 24, 2025

Colombian President Gustavo Petro detonated relations with Washington in a blistering UN speech, accusing Donald Trump of genocide, calling for his prosecution, and likening the U.S. to Nazi Germany. The U.S. delegation exited the chamber as Petro urged the world to form an armed coalition to liberate Gaza.

Maduro Seeks Dialogue with U.S, Petro Sidelined at UN

By Richard Emblin - September 22, 2025

Colombia’s Gustavo Petro is in New York ahead of the United Nation’s General Assembly. Petro trip to the U.S comes as Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro seeks to engage the Trump administration in dialogue, despite the military arsenal targeting drug boats in the Caribbean.