Gustavo Petro, the far-left president of Colombia, is no stranger to criticizing the Trump administration.

But when he levied unfounded claims that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was engaging in a secretive plot to remove him from office, the White House was particularly upset.

Earlier this month, Rubio addressed the “baseless and reprehensible” claims being made by Colombian officials:

And this week, reports from that country revealed that Petro had finally decided to issue a mea culpa, as Breitbart reported:

In the missive, Petro reportedly “clarifies” that any statement he made that “may have been interpreted as a direct accusation of involvement in an alleged coup d’état in Colombia was not intended to single out anyone personally or to question the role of the United States without foundation.”

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“My concern has always been to warn about destabilizing dynamics affecting our region, often driven by diverse actors with conflicting interests. In this context, I recognize that some of my words may have been perceived as unnecessarily harsh,” the letter reportedly read. “In the interest of dialogue, I want to say that my intention is not to close doors, but to open paths for honest and respectful conversation between our countries.”

Petro reportedly continued in the letter by expressing concerns over “public insinuations” that “violent rhetoric” from his presidency led to the early June assassination attempt against conservative Senator Miguel Uribe.  At the time. Sec. Rubio, in a social media post, condemned the incident and wrote that the assassination attempt was “the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.”

Petro reportedly concluded the letter by claiming that he believes it is time to “turn the page on misunderstandings and look ahead,” listing “hemispheric challenges” such as “the climate crisis, inequality, migration, transnational violence” and proposing a joint summit between the U.S. and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a regional bloc presently led by Petro.

“I am convinced that the American people, like the Colombian people, aspire to a relationship based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and justice. Let us celebrate our differences within the framework of understanding, and build on our commonalities to usher in a new era of cooperation,” Petro reportedly wrote.

“This is not a call for confrontation, but for shared responsibility. History is watching us, and the harshest judgment will be that of the future. May we rise to the occasion,” he continued.

The Colombian ambassador to the US reportedly passed the letter on to the Trump administration last month:

When asked about the development, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt couldn’t confirm that Trump had received the letter:

Here’s how Fox News covered the initial response by the Trump administration and others to the Petro regime’s allegations:

No further details were available regarding the diplomatic recall, though the decision comes after Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused “right-wing extremists” of plotting to overthrow him.

The Associated Press reported in May that Petro’s former foreign minister, Alvaro Leyva, accused him of being a drug “addict” for the second time in three weeks.

Leyva also reportedly published a seven-page letter on X calling for Petro to resign, alleging that the president is “dependent on substances that affect emotional and mental equilibrium.”

Petro, who was elected in 2022 and has a year left in office, denied the accusations during a speech in Bogota, in which he claimed to be a “revolutionary” who will not be “enslaved” by drugs.

This was not the first sign of a strained relationship between the leaders of the two nations, as the New York Post reported earlier this year:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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