Friday July 04, 2025
By Ukeme ASUQUO
With inputs from agency reports
The United States, US, and Colombia recalled their top diplomats Thursday, July 3, amid escalating tensions, linked to an alleged plot against Colombia’s leftist president, REUTERS reported.
Washington first withdrew its chargé d’affaires, citing “baseless and reprehensible” comments from Colombia’s government, a State Department spokesperson said, without elaborating.
In addition to McNamara’s recall, Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship.”
According to France24, within hours, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he was calling home his top diplomat in Washington in response.
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Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena “must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda,” Petro wrote on X, such as tapping South America’s “great potential for clean energy” and the fight against “drug lords and their international finances.”
The diplomatic spat came on the heels of the resignation of Colombia’s foreign minister earlier Thursday — the latest top-ranking official to exit Petro’s government.
“In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support,” Laura Sarabia, Petro’s former chief of staff, wrote on X.
Colombia was until recently one of the United States’s closest partners in Latin America. But ties have sharply deteriorated.