During his interview with the Colombia-born senator from Ohio, Marlow pointed out that “it feels like Petro is sort of alone” and added that “most of the rest of his government” was on board with Trump’s response. Moreno responded by saying “one of the blessings” of the recent situation between Colombia and the U.S., is that the people of Colombia “want a positive relationship” with the U.S. and “don’t stand with Petro.”
Freshman Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, walks through the Ohio Clock Corridor in the Capitol on November 12, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
As Breitbart News previously reported, Petro refused to accept two deportation flights from the U.S, after initially granting the aircraft permission. Petro accused the U.S. of treating “Colombian migrants as criminals” and wrote that he would be denying “the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants” until the U.S. established “a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants.”
After Trump intervened and threatened to impose measures such as a 25 percent tariff “on all goods” coming into the U.S, “a travel ban and immediate visa revocations” on Colombian government officials, and “visa sanctions on all party members” and family members of the Colombian government, Petro backed down and said he would send his presidential plane to pick up the deported illegal aliens.
The Colombian government later “agreed to all” of Trump’s terms, “including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia” who were being deported from the United States.
“It feels like Petro is sort of alone here,” Marlow told Moreno. “Really the most of the rest of his government, I think, is sort of on board with Trump here and he’s out there in the wilderness making his whole country look bad. What’s your thought on this?”
“One of the blessings of this has been, whether it’s the mayor of Medellín, the mayor of Bogotá, the Senators, business leaders from all over the country have united saying, ‘Look, we want to be America’s greatest ally again. We want a positive relationship. We don’t stand with Petro, we stand with America.’ And, I think we have to separate Petro and his government and the people of Colombia,” Moreno explained.
Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez criticized Petro of “deliberately provoking a diplomatic crisis” with the U.S., and reportedly “called emergency meetings with business leaders and the media,” according to Finance Colombia.
“The people of Colombia love America, and Americans, and Americans love Colombians. There’s a lot of positive influences that have come from American citizens that have become naturalized, like myself, that came from Colombia. We’ll restore that,” Moreno added. “Look, the election in Colombia is a year from now, and I hope that what Colombia does is unite and comes together about a candidate that puts their interest of their country first, which is by having a strong, positive relationship with America.”
The New York Times reported that “Gustavo Bolívar, who directs social services programs for the Petro administration,” several former Colombian presidents such as Álvaro Uribe Velez, had tried to “navigate the storm” between the two countries:
Gustavo Bolívar, who directs social services programs for the Petro administration, said the president reach out to him after Mr. Trump’s retaliatory moves. Mr. Bolivar shared his concerns that economic sanctions would harm Colombian business, he said.
At least three former presidents, including Mr. Uribe, a right-wing leader who has long been at odds with Mr. Petro, also offered to help navigate the storm. One official with knowledge of the events said that Mr. Uribe had called Ms. Sarabia and said, essentially: We have differences with President Petro. He made a mistake. But we need to resolve this. How can I help?
The Alex Marlow Show, hosted by Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, is a weekday podcast produced by Breitbart News and Salem Podcast Network. You can subscribe to the podcast on YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
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