The Trump administration barred President Petro from participating in any activities outside the UN agenda, citing the possibility of arrest

The media outlet The Washington Post revealed on Wednesday that the administration of President Donald Trump blocked a meeting scheduled for this week between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani after State Department officials held a meeting with the socialist government in Bogotá. The meeting between the two socialist leaders coincided with President Petro’s visit to the Big Apple as part of his itinerary at the United Nations Security Council, which included presiding over a debate on efforts to find mechanisms to bring about a possible peace agreement in the Middle East.

Far from being a minor event, the truth is that the meeting would have been as significant as it was high-profile, as it would have been the first time Mamdani had received a head of state since the New York administration took office on January 1 of this year. However, the Post reported that the Republican administration managed to block the meeting after its officials made it clear to Petro’s government that such a meeting was completely unacceptable, as it would constitute a clear violation of the visa restrictions Washington imposed on the Colombian president, which is why he could even have been arrested by U.S. authorities had he met with Mamdani, as it would have been an activity outside the UN’s official agenda.

The newspaper also reported that, according to several of its sources, the purpose of the meeting between the two left-wing leaders was to promote the mayor of New York as one of the leading figures of the left in the West, after starring in one of the most surprising political events following his victory in one of the most important mayoral races in the entire United States.

In September 2025, the Trump administration revoked Petro’s visa after he urged U.S. soldiers to disobey the Republican president over the Israeli offensive in Gaza during his visit to the United Nations High-Level Week. Although the relationship between Trump and the Colombian president has been extremely tense, both leaders recently held a meeting at the White House, and the U.S. government reinstated the socialist leader’s visa until the end of his term.