Bogota: Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a halt to coal exports to Israel, marking his dissent over its attacks on Gaza. He made his country's stance clear on social media, describing Israel's actions as genocide.
The draft decree shared by Petro on Saturday will be published by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism on its website between June 11 and 17 for comments before entering into force, reports Xinhua news agency. Official data show that Colombia exported 447 million US dollars of coal to Israel in 2023, a 57 per cent drop from 2022, while in the first four months of 2024, 88 million dollars of coal was exported to Israel.
Since the outbreak of a new round of conflict between Israel and Palestine on October 7, 2023, relations between Colombia and Israel have grown more tense. Petro repeatedly criticised Israel and called on other Latin American countries to join Colombia in condemning Israel. In a speech on May 1, Petro announced Colombia's severance of diplomatic relations with Israel.
Source:IANS