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<\/a><\/p>\nColombian President Gustavo Petro casts his vote during the presidential election on May 31, 2026 in Bogota, Colombia. (Andres Rot\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Petro, a left-wing president in the final weeks of his term ahead of the country\u2019s June 21 runoff election, posted the Nazi phrase in response to an op-ed supporting right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.<\/p>\n
Petro subsequently defended his use of the Nazi slogan, arguing that he was critiquing the language used by the op-ed\u2019s author, which he said included \u201cfascist phrases.\u201d<\/p>\n
His defense came after criticism from Israeli leaders and others who said the \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d comment was inappropriate.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, called on the Colombian leader to \u201ccome to your senses and apologize\u201d before Wednesday, when he is slated to preside over a debate at the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident of Colombia, @petrogustavo, whatever is going on in your personal life, there are lines that must never be crossed,\u201d Danon wrote in a post on X. \u201cUsing Nazi slogans is a disgraceful low from which there is no coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry also decried the post, writing on X that it was a \u201ctotal loss of moral compass and an indelible stain on Colombia\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The episode comes amid shifting norms about the use of Holocaust analogies and language in political discourse. After being considered out of bounds for a long time, people on both the right and the left have increasingly shed those norms amid growing political polarization and extremism around the world.<\/p>\n
The \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d post was not the first time Petro has landed in hot water for invoking the Holocaust. In the wake of Oct. 7, Petro drew backlash from Jewish and Israeli leaders for likening the actions of Israel to Nazi Germany. On social media, he has repeatedly called political rivals Nazis, including last month when he wrote in a post on X that Israel\u2019s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had behaved like a \u201ctrue Nazi\u201d after he posted videos taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Petro also severed diplomatic ties with Israel, accusing the country of commiting genocide in Gaza, an accusation Israel has denied. Espriella, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, has vowed to renew diplomatic ties with Israel.<\/p>\n
On Monday, 24 Latin American lawmakers signed onto a statement condemning Petro\u2019s rhetoric, warning that his repeated use of references to Naziism risked distorting Holocaust memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of references to Nazism must not become a rhetorical tool to discredit political or ideological positions. Democratic leaders have a responsibility to promote a respectful public debate that is conscious of the weight of words,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
The statement was initiated by the Coalition of Latin American Legislators Against Antisemitism, which is led by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. The signatories included lawmakers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.<\/p>\n
Shay Salamon, CAM\u2019s executive director of Latin American affairs, said in a statement that Petro\u2019s invocation of the phrase reflected a \u201ctroubling record of antisemitic expressions and conduct\u201d by the Colombian leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a leader uses the authority of his office to stigmatize the Jewish people or trivialize their historic suffering, silence is no longer an option,\u201d Salamon said.<\/p>\n