‘Entire Diplomatic Delegation Out’: Colombia’s Petro Expels Israeli Mission After Global Sumud Flotilla Intercepted Near Gaza

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday expelled Israel’s diplomatic delegation in Bogotá after the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which was sailing toward Gaza with humanitarian aid, was intercepted by Israeli forces.

«The entire Israeli diplomatic delegation in Colombia is leaving,» he announced in a post on the social network X.

According to GSF spokesperson Saif Abukeshek, Israeli forces intercepted 13 vessels 70 nautical miles off Gaza and detained more than 201 activists from 37 countries, including 30 from Spain, 22 from Italy, 21 from Turkey, and 12 from Malaysia.

It was also confirmed that among those detained are two Colombian citizens, Manuela Bedoya and Luna Barreto, who are part of the humanitarian mission as crew members of the HIO vessel.

“They were detained by Israeli forces during a peaceful and lawful mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, constituting a violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions,” the Colombian delegation stated.

In response, Petro condemned the interception of the flotilla by the Israeli military, calling it a “new international crime” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He also instructed the Foreign Ministry to “file all pertinent legal actions” over the detention of Bedoya and Barreto.

«Two Colombian citizens have been detained in international waters while engaging in humanitarian solidarity activities with Palestine. The Foreign Ministry must pursue all relevant legal actions, including before Israeli courts. I invite international lawyers to support Colombia, alongside our legal team,» the Colombian president wrote on X.

The Colombian head of state also ordered the immediate denunciation of the free trade agreement with Israel to bring it to an end, as he had foreshadowed during a recent cabinet meeting.

«‘Hitler Is Alive in World Politics’»

In his post on social media, Petro referenced Hannah Arendt, “the philosopher who analyzed totalitarianism,” noting that “in the 1950s she warned that Nazis remained alive.”

“Hitler is alive in world politics—Arendt was right. Let’s hope people are not anesthetized,” he said, referring to what he described as a new Israeli aggression against a peaceful mission seeking to break the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid amid shortages of food and medicine.

Who are Manuela Bedoya and Luna Barreto, the two Colombians detained by Israel?

According to several Colombian media outlets, Manuela Bedoya is a student and student leader at Universidad del Valle in Cali.

As an activist, she has focused on restoring the rights of victims of the armed conflict and has extensive experience strengthening processes of historical memory, collective health, and peacebuilding.

According to public statements cited by El Colombiano, her work centers on “amplifying the voices of victims of the armed conflict in university, community, and international spaces.”

For her part, Luna Barreto is a social educator and land-rights activist who has participated in initiatives where art becomes a therapeutic tool for Palestinian children and adolescents who have been injured and affected by the war.

The 24-year-old lives in Jordan with her Palestinian husband.

Both activists are part of the Colombian commission of the Global Movement to Palestine, whose purpose is to spotlight, denounce, and confront Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

In a video recorded and shared by Luna Barreto, the moment Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla’s boats can be seen.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry rejected Israel’s detention of the two activists, characterizing it as “kidnapping,” and demanded their immediate release.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, on behalf of the Government and people of Colombia, strongly rejects the kidnapping in international waters—by the Israeli armed forces and in blatant violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions—of the Colombian citizens Luna Barreto and Manuela Bedoya,” the ministry said in a statement.