Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

U.S. Takes Aim at President Gustavo Petro, but He's Akin to a Rock Star in Colombia
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Dan Kovalik
25 Mar 2026
🖨️ Print Article

All eyes are now fixed on the US-Israeli War on Iran, so there's been little attention to US moves to undermine Colombian President Gustavo Petro. These could, at worst, see Petro in a US prison alongside Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US kidnapped on January 3rd. I spoke to attorney and author Dan Kovalik, President Petro’s legal representative in the US and in international courts. We agreed that, as peace and justice activists, we need to understand this as another front in a global war to crush dissidence and re-establish the hegemony of neoliberalism and US empire. He said that President Petro is akin to a rock star in Colombia where huge crowds turn out to meet him in public.

Ann Garrison is a Black Agenda Report Contributing Editor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for her reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes region. She can be reached at ann@anngarrison.com. You can help support her work on Patreon.

Daniel Kovalik is a lawyer focusing particularly on human rights and a prolific author. He taught International Human Rights Law at the University of Pittsburgh from 2012-2023. His most recent books are "The Case for Palestine: Why it Matters and Why You Should Care," and "Syria: Anatomy of a Regime Change."

Colombia
Gustavo Petro
Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro
Neoliberalism
imperialism
Latin America

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Denial is Not a River in Egypt, or in Venezuela
03 June 2026
The U.S. regime change plot against Venezuela succeeded and created a puppet state.
David Escobar
Colombia: An ethical revolution (with a grassroots focus) / Una revolución ética (con acento popular)
03 June 2026
Colombia's presidential election will be held on June 21st as Historic Pact candidate Ivan Cepeda runs against the Trump endorsed right wing ca
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
SPEECH: Statement at the 19th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, 1964
27 May 2026
“Cuba ...
Hanna Eid
Imperialism and the Arab World: An Interview with Tara Alami
27 May 2026
Compliant Arab regimes spent decades spreading anti-Iran propaganda, but the current assault on Iran is shattering those lies.
Elías Jaua , Federico Fuentes
Former Chávez VP: Venezuela Needs a New ‘struggle for liberation’
27 May 2026
A former vice-president who served with Hugo Chávez provides analysis on what he calls neo-colonial control and coercion the U.S.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Betrayal in Venezuela
20 May 2026
Venezuela’s betrayal of Alex Saab in handing him over to the U.S. leaves little room for debate.
Tamanisha J. John
Annexationist Chauvinism: There is No Justification for the Venezuela-Guyana Essequibo Border Dispute
20 May 2026
The Essequibo dispute benefits Exxon Mobil and the Pentagon while crushing anti-imperialist solidarity.
Orinoco Tribune
Venezuela: Diosdado Cabello and Delcy Rodríguez Justify Controversial Alex Saab Deportation Amid Growing Backlash
20 May 2026
Delcy Rodríguez insists that every decision made since January 3 serves to benefit Venezuela. The deportation of Alex Saab to the U.S.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
LETTER: Pedro Pérez Sarduy to Carlos Moore, 1990
06 May 2026
“I felt proud to be black in a country in revolution with a leader of Iberian ancestry who had launched Operation Carlota, in one of
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: The Class War in Cuba, Julio Antonio Mella, 1926
22 April 2026
“This pamphlet is a response to the bloody offensive by our tyrant and his master –Yankee capitalist imperialism.”

More Stories


  • Butch Ware
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist , Butch Ware
    Dr. Butch Ware's Green Party Campaign in the California's Governor's Race
    01 May 2026
    Black Agenda Report Executive Editor Margaret Kimberley speaks with Dr. Butch Ware, the Green Party's nominee in the California governor's race. Dr. Ware discusses why the Democratic Party is…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Truth, Lies and an Assassination Attempt
    29 Apr 2026
    The impetus to question official narratives is quite logical, given the U.S. history of promoting war propaganda and other lies.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: José Martí Today, Jesús Colón, 1961
    29 Apr 2026
    “Fidel Castro, the heir of José Martí is certainly throwing all colonial concepts and attitudes in history’s ash can.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    US Seeks to Turn Eritrea Into “a Bulwark Against Iranian Influence”
    29 Apr 2026
    As the militarization of the Red Sea escalates, the US tries to enlist Eritrea in exchange for sanctions relief.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Documents of Disaster and Conferences of Calamity: Rhetorical Questions, Questions of Rhetoric and the Transition  from Fossil Fuels
    29 Apr 2026
    The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels produced a People's Declaration. There have been many such statements over the years, yet the climate crisis continues unabated.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us