By Adriaan Alsema

Copyright colombiareports

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro expelled Israel’s economic delegation after its US-backed Navy kidnapped two Colombian activists who were trying to break a siege and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was already wanted by the International Criminal Court, committed “another international crime” by ordering the kidnapping of Colombian citizens in international waters.

The Colombian activists, Luna Barreto and Manuela Bedoya, were among a group of 497 anti-genocide activists that tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via the Mediterranean Sea.

The president ordered the Foreign Ministry to take all possible legal action against Tel Aviv, “including before Israeli justice,” and called on international lawyers to work together with Colombian government lawyers.

Petro additionally ordered the immediate expulsion of remaining Israeli diplomats from the country and immediate steps to revoke a trade deal between Colombia and Israel.

Last but not least, the president ordered the military to reinforce his security, claiming that “the US decided to take the arms that, according to them, were on loan” to the presidential palace.

The Colombian delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried the activists, called on local activists to organize protests at business association ANDI, “which maintains ties to Israel’s economic mission in Colombia and the mining sector that legitimize trade relations with the Zionist state.”

The message is clear: If they block humanitarian aid, we block the economic flow. All eyes on Gaza. We will see you in the streets.
Global Sumud Flotilla Colombia

The kidnapping of the Colombian activists is the latest escalation of tensions between Israel and Colombia, whose government has been one of the most vociferous opponent of Israel’s ongoing genocide on the Palestinian resident of Gaza.

The US Government last week revoked Petro’s visa after the president called on the UN’s General Assembly to form an army to “liberate Palestine” and called on US soldiers to “disobey Trump,” Netanyahu’s closest ally.