Speaking to the press after being received the previous day by Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution, Petro stated: “I came to call upon humanity to show solidarity with Cuba, so that there is no invasion here, nor any launching of missiles.”

Petro asserted that “it is time for dialogue; what is happening in the Middle East is nothing to celebrate—it could be the prelude to a global holocaust, to widespread barbarism.”

“We have a man like Netanyahu who is simply trying to save himself, trying to perpetuate his hold on power in Israel by waging wars outside of Israel—trying to intensify wars outside of Israel to save himself from an international trial, which—like the Nazis at the Nuremberg tribunal—he deserves for being a genocidaire,” the Colombian leader denounced.

The head of state called on the American people not to be complicit in that policy and noted that “a dialogue of civilizations could take place—in the American context—right here between the state of Florida and the island and Republic of Cuba; they are so close yet so far apart, and this could well serve as the first bridge of unity for humanity.”

For his part, the Cuban president expressed his gratitude on the social network X for Petro’s “profound solidarity and firm support” for Cuba in the face of threats of aggression, the energy blockade, and the intensification of the US economic blockade, while reiterating “our government’s unwavering commitment to peace in Colombia.” Petro’s visit—his third to Cuba as head of state—comes after Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced the closure of the embassy in Havana and the severing of ties with the island, a decision the Cuban Foreign Ministry described as “an act of subordination to United States policy of aggression.”

Cuba reiterated that it maintains a smooth bilateral relationship with Colombia, characterized by significant progress in the economic-commercial sphere, as well as in cooperation and academic exchanges.

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