Columbia President Gustavo Petro has found itself at the center of a diplomatic dispute with the US after refusing to allow deported citizens in Colombia.
In vengeance, US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered tariffs and sanctions against Colombia. The 78 -year -old imposed a 25 percent tariff on Colombian products, which increased by 50 percent within a week as the country refused to accept exile flights. Facing this pressure, President Petro reversed his decision and agreed to allow exile from the US on Sunday morning.
Who is the Colombian President Gustavo Petro?
- Born in Cienaga De ORO, Gustavo Petro is one of the most controversial and influential political figures in Colombia. He has a degree in economics from the University of Universidad External D. Columbia and conducted his further graduation studies at Escuela Superior de Administrative Public (ESAP).
- Shri Petro is the first former guerrilla fighter to hold the country’s highest office. He was a member of the M -19 movement, a leftist guerrilla group, which was demobilized in the late 1980s. After the group disarmament, he changed his political career and became a major voice for social justice and peace.
- In 1985, Mr. Petro was arrested by the Colombian Army and was sentenced to 18 months in jail for possession of illegal weapons. After the peace process between the M -19 and the Colombian government, Mr. Petro was released, and in 1991, he was selected for the representative’s Chamber.
- His political career continued to grow. In 2006, he was selected for the Colombian Senate as a member of the alternative Democratic Poll (PDA) party, receiving the second largest number of votes. In 2011, he made history by winning the municipal elections of Bogota and becoming the city’s mayor on 1 January 2012. He remains the first east-gairilla of Colombia to fulfill such an important political position. In 2018, Mr. Petro fled to the President but failed to get enough votes to secure the post. In 2022, he won the election and was sworn in as President on 7 August of that year.
- Mr. Petro was involved in his presidential campaign, especially in Venezuela, Armando Benendetti and his Chief of Staff, his presidential campaign around Laura Sarabia. The scam emerged when the recording of Benendetti and Sarabia surfaced while discussing possible illegal funding for Petro’s campaign.
