Colombia Expels Argentine Diplomats Over Milei's Remarks

Facts

• Colombia on Wednesday ordered Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Dzugala and his staff to leave the country's embassy in Bogotá within three days, after Argentina's Pres. Javier Milei made 'offensive' comments about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro.¹
• In an interview with CNN en Español and Miami Herald's Andrés Oppenheimer, set to air on Sunday, Milei reportedly called Petro 'a terrorist murderer.'²
• Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, was a member of the long-demobilized M-19 rebel armed group for 12 years before entering into politics to serve as senator and mayor of Bogotá.³
• Previously, Colombia had recalled its ambassador to Argentina after Milei called Petro a 'murderous communist.'⁴
• Last year, Milei also attacked Pope Francis, calling the pontiff 'an imbecile who defends social justice.'⁵

Sources: ¹Colombia News, ²CNN, ³Buenos Aires Times, ⁴Al Jazeera and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by teleSUR English. Yet again, Milei has offended the dignity of a democratically elected president by blatantly disregarding diplomatic norms, bilateral relations between Argentina and Colombia, and the Colombian nation's sovereign choice. The decision to expel Argentine diplomats is reasonable and fully justified.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Breitbart. We're living in such a strange time that someone can offend the dignity of another by stressing a well-known fact. Though Petro regularly touts his Marxist guerrilla past as a member of the terrorist M-19, he and his allies are now claiming that Milei has insulted him by calling him a terrorist.

Predictions