Colombia-Argentina Crisis: Milei Calls Petro ‘Murderous Communist’; Petro Responds
Orinoco Tribune, January 28, 2024 —
Tensions between Argentina and Colombia are on the rise after the newly elected Argentinian President Javier Milei said that his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro was a “murderous communist” who is sinking his country.
Responding to this comment that put bilateral relations between the two countries at risk, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that those who attack him do not know what communism or socialism is.
“They attack us as communists, socialists, but this is not about the State owning the means of production,” Petro commented during an event in the municipality of Tumaco, Nariño department. “Of course, those who attack us have no idea what communism and socialism are.”
Petro added that “socialism is the way of production in which the State owns the means of production. That is not what we are looking for, we believe and want the means of production to be in the hands of the people, not the State.”
In an interview with Colombian journalist Patricia Janiot on Thursday, January 25, Milei called Petro a “murderous communist who is sinking Colombia.”
In the same interview, Milei praised Donald Trump as “one of the leaders of freedom against global socialism.” He also referred positively to the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who, in his opinion, “despite adversity, was able to carry out his government program.”
Aftermath of Milei’s comment
In response to Milei’s attitude, the Colombian government recalled its ambassador in Buenos Aires, Camilo Romero, for consultations, and emphasized that Milei’s statements “disregard and violate the deep bonds of friendship, understanding and cooperation that have historically united Colombia and Argentina.”
“The government of Colombia strongly rejects this statement, which attempt to stain the honor of the president, who has been democratically and legitimately elected,” added the Colombian Foreign Ministry in its statement.
The foreign affairs minister of Colombia, Álvaro Leyva, expressed his “strongest protest against the disrespectful and irresponsible statements made by the President of the Republic of Argentina, Mr. Javier Milei, against President Gustavo Petro, during an interview with journalist Ángela Patricia Janiot, broadcast on January 25.”
Ambassador Romero, who will return to Colombia as instructed by his government, also condemned Milei’s comments. “Milei is a hypocrite,” Romero wrote on X. “While today he asks our government for approval for his new ambassador to Colombia, he calls the president a murderer… We may think differently, but the region and the historical brotherhood of our peoples must be above our differences.”
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(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres, with Orinoco Tribune content