Former president Ivan Duque came under fire after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Duque went to Israel to promote his wife’s foundation and the business interests of the Gilinski oligarchy.
On national television, the former president praised the ongoing collaboration between Israel and his foundation.
Duque’s mission sought to “strengthen ties between Colombia and Israel through knowledge of the Startup Nation’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem,” according to Israel’s closed embassy in Bogota.
Colombia’s ties with Israel have been reduced to a minimum after President Gustavo Petro shut down coal exports to Israel and military cooperation between the two countries.
Duque denounced the Petro administration for “supporting Hamas and its association with antisemitism.”
We have, unfortunately, a government that supports Hamas and associates itself with antisemitism. Since that kind of thing has existed, there can’t be a trusting relationship. We quickly need a new government in Colombia that has a sense of respect for international relations and for Israel
Ivan Duque
Duque drew sharp criticism for his visit and support of Israel at a time when its armed forces are committing genocide.
In response, Senator and presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda filed a criminal complaint against Ivan Duque for “apologism of the genocide against the Palestinian people.”
I announce that I will file with the Prosecutor General’s Office a criminal complaint against former president Ivan Duque Marquez, for alleged apology of genocide (article 102 of the Penal Code), since he would be justifying or attempting to cover up the genocidal practice against the Palestinian people, perpetrated by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who, since November of last year, has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ivan Cepeda
President Gustavo Petro also condemned the meeting and said on the social media platform X that “They don’t care at all that there is a genocide, that people die of hunger, they have done it in Colombia too. They have lost their heart.”
The Gaza genocide, which started in 2023, is part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that came with the creation of the Israeli state in 1948.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 62,000 people have been killed since October 2023. Scholars have estimated that 80% of the killed Palestinians are unarmed civilians, mainly women and children.
