Colombia expels its Argentine diplomats after insults from Javier Milei
Relations between Argentina and Colombia are once again damaged by inflammatory statements from Javier Milei. In power for less than four months, the Argentine president once again insulted his Colombian counterpart during an interview with CNN in Spanish. Consequence: diplomats from the Argentine embassy in Colombia were expelled.
On the left, the Argentine President, Javier Milei, and on the right, his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro. © Montage RFI / AP / Jose Luis Magana / Ken Ishii
By: RFI with AFP
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The interview will not be broadcast until next Sunday March 31, but it is already causing a lot of noise. It must be said that CNN published selected extracts on social networks in which
the ultra-liberal Javier Milei
defends his management of the country and criticizes Venezuela, Cuba, or even the Mexican president, who has never been kind to him: “
For this uneducated Lopez Obrador to say bad things about me, that flatters me
,” said the Argentine head of state.
The latter also attacks his Colombian counterpart,
Gustavo Petro
. The two men hardly like each other and make no secret of it: “
We can't expect much from someone who was a terrorist, communist assassin
,” he says.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, was named by Colombia, Gustavo Petro, as a “terrorist terrorist” during an interview with @oppenheimera in #OppenheimerPresenta pic.twitter.com/Y64cypaKbf
— CNN en Español (@CNNEE) March 27, 2024
Javier Milei had already insulted Gustavo Petro in January and February. The Colombian ambassador in Buenos Aires was then recalled. This time, Colombia ordered diplomats from the
Argentine
embassy in Bogota to return home.
For the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “
the expressions of the Argentine president have damaged the confidence of our nation, as well as the dignity of President Petro, who was democratically elected
” in the summer of 2022 as the first left-wing president of the history
of Colombia
.
Very deteriorated diplomatic relations
The details of
the “expulsion will be communicated to the Argentine embassy through the
usual diplomatic channels,” Bogota added. The Argentine government has not commented on the matter. “
This is not the first time that Mr. Milei has offended the Colombian president, affecting the historic relations of fraternity
” between the two countries, recalled the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Argentina and Colombia – despite being leading commercial and strategic partners, particularly in the fight against organized crime – are
on the verge of diplomatic rupture
. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly since ultra-liberal Javier Milei came to power in Buenos Aires in December 2023.
Also readArgentina: 100 days after his inauguration, Javier Milei has already started his budget cuts
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