CaliToday (06/11/2025): Zohran Mamdani's "Islamic-socialist" victory in New York City wasn't just celebrated by his local DSA supporters. It received a gleeful, high-profile endorsement from one of the most controversial leaders in the Western Hemisphere: Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
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| Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia |
This wasn't a standard diplomatic pleasantry. It was a defiant statement from a man who is personally sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department and banned from entering the very country whose largest city Mamdani will now run.
The mutual admiration between the two figures, highlighted by Petro's celebratory social media posts, reveals what observers describe as a hardening ideological alliance one that links the American far-left directly with the established Marxist leaders of South America.
The Sanctioned President vs. The United States
To understand the gravity of Petro's endorsement, one must first understand his current standing with Washington.
OFAC Sanctions: Petro is not just a critic; he is on the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list. The sanctions, issued in October, are for "engaging in... activity that has materially contributed to... international proliferation of illicit drugs."
The Cocaine Surge: This aligns with UNODC reports showing that cocaine production in Colombia has skyrocketed under Petro's leadership. Petro has actively pushed for legalization, famously and controversially claiming that "cocaine is less harmful than sugar."
A "Family Affair": The sanctions are not limited to him. They extend to his inner circle, including his son, Nicolás Petro Burgos (who is on trial for accepting money from drug traffickers to fund his father's campaign), and the First Lady, Verónica Alcocer.
A History of Open Hostility
Petro's defiance is not new. His visa was revoked by the U.S. State Department before the OFAC sanctions, following his actions in New York City in September.
During a pro-Palestine rally, Petro allegedly called for the U.S. military to "defy President Donald Trump," an unprecedented call for insubordination.
His subsequent address to the UN General Assembly was a diplomatic firebomb. He reportedly called President Trump an "accomplice to genocide in Gaza" and a "murderer" for ordering airstrikes on drug-running vessels.
His rhetoric only escalated upon his return to Colombia, where he publicly called for President Trump's arrest for "war crimes." In a now-infamous Univisión interview, when asked about Trump, Petro said: "Humanity has a first way out, which is to replace Trump... if not..." he then snapped his fingers and said, "Remove him."
The "Statue of Liberty" and the 2026 Vow
Petro's celebratory message to Mamdani—"New York's people deserve their Statue of Liberty" is a direct, self-referential taunt. It alludes to his own bizarre proposal to have the Statue of Liberty moved from New York to Cartagena, Colombia. He argued that America, under Trump's "hard-line immigration policy," no longer deserved the monument.
This entire episode paints a picture of a leader who sees himself in an open ideological war with Washington.
Even while banned from the country, Petro vows to return. He has stated he will be in New York in January 2026, when Colombia begins its two-year term on the UN Security Council. In a final act of defiance, he has pledged to "give Colombia's seat to the Palestinian people" to "express their voice."
For Petro, Mamdani's win is not a local election. It is a profound symbolic victory. It represents, in his eyes, the successful establishment of his own anti-U.S., "anti-arrogance" ideology inside the very heart of his primary adversary.
CaliToday.Net