Colombia expels Argentine diplomats after Milei calls Petro ‘terrorist murderer’ in CNN interview

 The Colombian government has ordered the expulsion of all Argentine diplomats from the country’s embassy in Bogotá following a CNN interview in which the Argentine president called his Colombian counterpart a “terrorist murderer.”

“The Argentine president’s expressions have deteriorated the trust of our nation and offended the dignity of President (Gustavo) Petro, who was elected democratically,” the Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The comments by Argentina’s new ultra-right president, Javier Milei, came during a wide-ranging interview with Andrés Oppenheimer, of CNN en Español and The Miami Herald – set to air at 9 P.M. Eastern Time this Sunday – which also touched on the leader’s stalled economic austerity plan and his staunch support for Israel in the wake of international condemnation over its war with Gaza.

Of Petro, a former guerilla who became Colombia’s first left-wing president following a 2022 election victory, Milei said, “You can’t expect much from someone who was a terrorist murderer.”

Milei, a former television pundit with a reputation for bombast, also attacked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the interview, calling him “ignorant.”

López Obrador, a left-wing populist, has previously criticized Milei’s policies and compared him to a dictator. On Thursday, in a post on social media, López Obrador hit back, wondering why Argentinians “voted for someone who is not right, who despises the people.”