Tensions between the two leaders are rising. Here are the details.
Milei called the Colombian president a “terrorist killer” during an interview with the CNN channel in Spanish.
The Colombian government took the decision on Wednesday to expel diplomats from the Argentine Embassy in Bogotá in response to the insulting comments of Argentine President Javier Milei towards his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro.
Milei called the Colombian president a “terrorist killer” during an interview with the CNN channel in Spanish.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it announced the expulsion of Argentine diplomats, although it did not specify how many would be affected, noting that this measure will be communicated to the Argentine Embassy through the corresponding diplomatic channels.
Milei’s comments generated a strong reaction from the Colombian government, which repudiated the denigrating statements towards the Colombian president and stressed that this is not the first incident between the two presidents, recalling previous episodes of ideological tensions.
The expulsion of diplomats is a rare measure in Colombia and reflects the extent of the crisis caused by Milei’s comments, which have affected relations between the two countries.
Conflicts
The frictions between Colombia and Argentina have been persistent in recent months, on January 26, the Colombian government called for consultations with its ambassador to Argentina, Camilo Romero, following comments by Milei, who in an interview with journalist Patricia Janiot described Petro as “a murderous communist who is sinking” the country.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry stressed that these statements were unaware of the ties of friendship between the two nations and immediately called for consultations with Ambassador Romero.
On February 24, Colombia again rejected Milei’s statements, this time calling Petro “a plague,” expressed as he left a convention in National Harbor, Maryland, where he was supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Since Milei was a presidential candidate, Petro has criticized him for his derogatory comments about socialists, comparing his ideas to Hitler’s.
In Argentina’s last election campaign, Petro openly supported Milei’s rival, Sergio Massa, and when the latter was elected president last October, Petro described his triumph as “sad for Latin America.”
Tensions have reached the point where the Colombian head of state has compared Milei to dictators Jorge Videla of Argentina and Augusto Pinochet of Chile, which also generated criticism.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in Tunota