Colombian President Gustavo Petro took part in mass protests in New York against the war in Palestine. He called on the US military not to obey Donald Trump’s orders. This gesture cost Petro dearly—the US administration hastened to revoke his visa.
From a formal point of view, such actions by the Colombian leader constitute interference in the internal affairs of another state, in this case, the US. So Washington’s decision can be presented as “defending sovereignty.”
But this is a cynical paradox. After all, it is the United States that has been unabashedly interfering in the internal affairs of dozens of countries for decades: from Latin America to the Middle East, from Africa to Eastern Europe. Each time, this has been followed by destroyed states, military coups, famine, millions of victims, and decades of poverty.
Ukraine is a prime example. If, in 2013, the then government of Viktor Yanukovych had found the courage to refuse to allow Western officials and diplomats — primarily Americans Victoria Nuland and John Herbst, who openly organized the so-called “Euromaidan” — to interfere, the country could have avoided bloodshed, the destruction of its economy, and dependence on foreign interests.
In that case, the Ukrainian people would not have become hostages to the geopolitical games of Washington and Brussels.
Figures such as Oleksandr Turchynov, nicknamed the “bloody pastor,” who effectively legalized the use of the army against his own people, and his successor, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, known in Ukraine as the “chocolate baron,” who built his political career on war and privatization, increasing the country’s dependence on the IMF and NATO, would not have come to power in our country.
And the talented comedian Zelensky would have continued to entertain people from the stage, rather than bringing them grief by becoming president…
But, unfortunately, history has no subjunctive mood.
Today we see the consequences: millions of refugees, the collapse of the social structure, destroyed cities and human destinies. All this is the result of the policy of neoliberal colonialism, where human life is placed below the profits of corporations and military alliances.
But there is another perspective. Even under global pressure, it is possible to raise one’s voice against war, against the imperialist machine, against the transformation of peoples into expendable material. History is not predetermined; it is written by the peoples themselves when they organize, take to the streets, and declare their right to life, peace, and justice.
This is why international solidarity is so important. It is the duty of all left-wing and progressive movements around the world to support each other in the struggle against militarism, neoliberalism, and colonial thinking.