The United States strongly condemns Gustavo Petro's statements: 'We were shocked by the comparison of the Israeli government with Hitler's regime'

The United States Embassy in Bogotá condemned the statements made by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in which he compared the actions of the Israeli government to the genocide perpetrated by Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. ambassador to Colombia, published a statement this Thursday condemning Petro's position after the attacks by the Hamas terrorist group.

“We were shocked to see Colombian President [Gustavo Petro] compare the Israeli government to Hitler’s genocidal regime. We strongly condemn President Petro’s statements,” wrote the special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.

In her post, Lipstadt also called on the Colombian president to retract his statements and condemn the attack by the terrorist group Hamas. “We call on him to condemn Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, for its barbaric murder of Israeli men, women and children,” she said.

The message was shared a few minutes later on the official X account of the United States Embassy in Bogotá .

Petro's statements

On Oct. 8, shortly after Hamas carried out its violent attack against Israel, the Colombian president made a post assuring that the Palestinian people have been victims of the injustices committed by the Israeli government, and suggested that, although in the past he would have fought on the side of the Jews, now he is on the side of the Palestinians.

“If I had lived in Germany in 1933, I would have fought on the side of the Jews, and if I had lived in Palestine in 1948, I would have fought on the Palestinian side. Now the neo-Nazis want the destruction of the Palestinian people, freedom and culture,” he wrote.

Later, the Israeli ambassador in Bogotá, Gali Dagan, invited Petro to the Auschwitz concentration camp, to which the Colombian president responded: “I was already in the Auschwitz concentration camp and now I see it copied in Gaza.”

The World Jewish Congress reacts to Petro's statements

“What you are saying is an insult to the six million victims of the Holocaust and to the Jewish People. Your comments here, and the others on your page completely ignore the hundreds of dead and kidnapped during Hamas’ murderous attack on Israeli civilians. This post is a shame to you and your country. A world leader should do better,” the World Jewish Congress wrote to Petro in response to his comments.