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Colombia’s president accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza, encourages musicians to hold anti-Israel concert

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In late October, Colombia recalled its ambassador in protest of the invasion.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday called on artists to hold a major concert in the country in solidarity with the Palestinians, while also falsely accusing Israel of committing ”genocide” in the Gaza Strip during its war against Hamas terrorists controlling the enclave.

Petro took to X/Twitter and shared a video of Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper Rene Perez Joglar, also known by his stage name Residente, claiming Israel is perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and asking other artists to denounce Israel’s defensive military campaign against Hamas. Petro then urged all artists to join him in a concert in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“I would like Rene and everyone who wants to use art to criticize the genocide against the Palestinian people to join me in the Plaza de Bolivar or in Simon Bolivar Park in Bogotá in a great concert against genocide and for life,” he wrote on X. “Let a cry of humanity against infamy come out of Bogotá. And from there we went to Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla and the regions of Colombia, go out in caravans to find us in the middle of art and music to come together to shout Enough, stop the killing!”

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Residente announced in December that he was postponing his new album and the release of several music videos because of what he claimed to be “the genocide that Israel is committing with US support against the Palestinian civilian population.” He also criticized others in the music industry for not denouncing the ”genocide” taking place in Gaza.

In late October, Petro recalled Colombia’s ambassador to Israel in protest of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Israel launched its campaign in response to the deadly Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel. Earlier that month, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that it was suspending defense exports to Colombia because Petro refused to condemn the Hamas atrocities and compared Israel’s ensuing military campaign to the conduct of Nazi Germany.

The two countries have deep military ties, as Israel has been one of Colombia’s main suppliers of war planes, surveillance equipment and assault rifles since the 1990s.