Petro, without presenting any evidence, claimed that Israel uses the coal it imports to make bombs and “kill Palestinian babies.” Local experts refuted Petro’s claims on Thursday and clarified that the Colombian coal exported to Israel is used for energy generation — including providing power to the Gaza strip.
“Here, in this palace, I was betrayed. History repeats itself. Because I said that not a single ton of coal would be sent to kill Palestinian babies,” Petro said. “And here, in this house, under my government, white officials, descendants of slave owners, I say, they took the idea of how to turn the president’s innocuous phrase into a decree. It wasn’t [coal companies] Grencourt, it wasn’t Drummond. They took advantage, yes. But those who committed the betrayal were here, paid by the Colombian people and in other ministries.”
The far-left president compared the alleged “betrayal” of his orders to historical events that took place roughly 200 years ago between Venezuelan independence hero and founding father Simón Bolívar and Colombian independence hero Francisco de Paula Santander.
“And then they set the trap, very Colombian style, very Santander style. Just like when Santander went to kill Bolívar on the second floor,” he continued. “On the first or second floor of this house. Just the same, the betrayal that has accompanied us ever since, killing us among ourselves. Loneliness perhaps began that day when Santander was going to kill Bolívar and was saved by a woman.”
Petro denounced the “betrayal” during his participation at a conference organized by the “Hague Group” anti-Israel coalition of countries and hosted by the Colombian government in the capital city of Bogotá. The conference included the participation of United Nations “Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories” Francesca Albanese, who urged for the destruction of Israel’s economy at the event.
The far-left president attributed the “betrayal” of his orders to unnamed officials from the Colombian Foreign Ministry, who “helped set him up” by allegedly using language in the decree that rendered the ban “harmless.” Petro reportedly ordered his new far-left Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio to redo the prohibition decree.
“We have banned coal exports, but the government itself is cheating us, and the Foreign Minister has been ordered to reverse the effect immediately,” Petro said.
The Colombian president has maintained an aggressive anti-Israel stance since the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the start of Israel’s self-defense operations against the jihadist terrorist group Hamas.
Petro, who unilaterally cut off Colombia’s decades-long friendly ties with Israel last year, has repeatedly claimed that Israel’s actions are comparable to the actions of Nazi Germany during World War II and accused Israel of turning Gaza into a concentration camp the likes of Auschwitz. Petro replaced the Colombian embassy in Israel with a new one in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Colombia is one of the world’s largest coal producers. In 2023, the South American nation reportedly exported 56.7 million metric tons, of which some 3 million tons were sent to Israel. Petro has repeatedly claimed that oil and coal — Colombia’s two top exports — are “more poisonous” than cocaine. Oil and coal reportedly amount to about half of the country’s entire revenue.
Petro signed a decree in August 2024 imposing a ban on Colombian exports to Israel. At the time, Petro publicly claimed, without evidence, that Israel used the imported Colombian coal to “make bombs to kill Palestine children.”
On Thursday morning, Carlos Cante, president of Colombia’s National Federation of Coal Producers (Fenalcarbon) spoke to Blu Radio and refuted Petro’s claims that the coal is used to “make bombs.”
Cante explained that the coal exported to Israel is bituminous and as a result, 95 percent of the exported mineral is used for power generation. Cante further explained that Colombia has exported coal to Israel for over 30 years, with almost 600,000 tones exported to Israel during the first trimester of 2025. The representative stressed that Petro’s ban harms Colombia more than it harms Israel, as Israel now imports its coal from Australia and Asian countries instead.
“That energy also supplies the Gaza Strip. I have no explanation for the president’s statements, but the truth is that it is not coal used to make bombs,” Cante told Blu Radio. “Israel will continue to buy coal. The market does not stop. Today, it is being supplied from Australia, which is consolidating its position as the big winner from this Colombian restriction.”
Petro also publicly reprimanded Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez during his participation at the anti-Israel event for continuing to receive Israeli firearms — which Colombia has used for decades in its fight against Marxist terrorist organizations. Petro himself is a member of the Marxist guerrilla terrorist group M19, a fact he often boasts about during public events.
“We must have armies of light and unite our armies and think things through carefully. Israeli weapons can no longer arrive here, and yet they are arriving. The defense minister of this government must answer for that,” Petro said. “How can we stand with armies that drop bombs on children? Those armies are not armies of freedom, they are armies of darkness.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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