GUSTAVO PETRO DEMANDS GLOBAL ACTION

AGAINST GENOCIDE AT THE UN

Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego’s September 23, 2025, address to the UN General Debate was one of his most forceful and controversial interventions on the international stage. Petro began by declaring that the situation in Gaza amounted to genocide and that the world could no longer rely on empty words or failed diplomacy. He demanded that the General Assembly create a powerful international armed force—not merely UN peacekeepers—to intervene and protect Palestinians directly. He emphasized urgency and moral duty, repeatedly warning that humanity had “had enough words.”

Much of his speech sharply criticized U.S. policy. He condemned the Trump administration’s military strikes in the Caribbean and urged criminal investigations into U.S. officials, including Trump, for authorizing them. He portrayed the U.S.-led “war on drugs” as a geopolitical tool of domination rather than a sincere effort to combat trafficking, and he accused both the United States and NATO of undermining democracy worldwide while enabling the violence in Gaza. These attacks culminated in a dramatic walkout by members of the U.S. delegation during his remarks.

Petro also tied his foreign policy critique to a broader vision of global transformation. He argued that humanity has a narrow window—about a decade—to change course to avert climate collapse. For him, this requires moving away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, which is being led in part by Latin America and Africa. He insisted that the changes must be systemic, framing them as a “revolution of civilization” that challenges capitalism’s failures and the chaos of unregulated markets. To underscore his message, Petro invoked the revolutionary imagery of Simón Bolívar, contrasting red and black flags of liberty with the advance of tyranny.

The immediate repercussions were swift. Days after his speech, the U.S. State Department revoked Petro’s visa, citing his remarks as reckless and incendiary. His intervention is now viewed as a radical turning point in his presidency’s foreign policy, signaling a willingness to defy the dominant international order in the name of justice, climate responsibility, and the defense of oppressed peoples.

Gustavo Petro Urrego: Statement summary (English) (United Nations, 9-23-25)

Full Statement in Spanish PDF (United Nations, 9-23-2025)

(Contains statement translated into English) From Gaza to the Caribbean: Petro Names the System, Not the Symptom (Weaponized Information, 9-25-25)

Colombia’s president calls for criminal investigation against Trump over Caribbean strikes (AP News, 9-23-25)

‘Enough Words’: Colombia’s Petro Urges Armed UN Force to End Gaza Genocide (Common Dreams, 9-24-25)

“Humanity must stop the genocide in Gaza”: Petro’s radical speech at the UN General Assembly (People's Dispatch, 9-25-25)

State Department revokes Colombian president’s visa (Politico, 9-27-25)

With His Whole Chest: Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego's Revolutionary Words (also contains the statement translated into English) (Witness, 9-27-25)

Also see President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil’s “Our democracy and our sovereignty are non-negotiable” speech at the 80th UN General Assembly.

President Lula’s speech at the Opening of the General Debate of the 80th UN General Assembly (GovBR, 9-23-25)

‘Our democracy is non-negotiable’, President Lula of Brazil tells General Assembly (UN News, 9-23-25)