Colombia’s outgoing president under fire over ‘Heil Hitler’ tweet

JTA — Colombia’s outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, sparked fierce condemnation from Israeli and Latin American leaders after he tweeted the phrase “Heil Hitler” Sunday in response to an op-ed endorsing a candidate in the country’s upcoming presidential election. Petro, a left-wing president in the final weeks of his term ahead of the country’s June 21 runoff election, posted the Nazi phrase in response to an op-ed supporting right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Petro subsequently defended his use of the Nazi slogan, arguing that he was critiquing the language used -ed’s author, which he said included “fascist phrases.” His defense came after criticism from Israeli leaders and others who said the “Heil Hitler” comment was inappropriate. 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. Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks through a megaphone at an anti-Israel rally in New York, September 26, 2025. (Screen capture: MinCultura Colombia via X) The “Heil Hitler” post was not the first time Petro has landed in hot water for invoking the Holocaust. In the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, 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’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had behaved like a “true Nazi” after he posted videos taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. In 2024, Petro also severed diplomatic ties with Israel, accusing the country of committing genocide in Gaza, an accusation Israel has denied. Espriella, who was endorsed , has vowed to renew diplomatic ties with Israel. On Monday, 24 Latin American lawmakers signed onto a statement condemning Petro’s rhetoric, warning that his repeated use of references to Naziism risked distorting Holocaust memory. “The 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,” the statement read. The statement was initiated , which is led . The signatories included lawmakers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Shay Salamon, CAM’s executive director of Latin American affairs, said in a statement that Petro’s invocation of the phrase reflected a “troubling record of antisemitic expressions and conduct” . “When a leader uses the authority of his office to stigmatize the Jewish people or trivialize their historic suffering, silence is no longer an option,” Salamon said.