Petro criticizes Trump for accusing Haitians of eating American pets

Petro will be in New York next week, where he will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday / Photo: EFE

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is on a trip to the United States, criticized former president of that country and Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, on Saturday for saying that Haitian migrants who have arrived in the city of Springfield (Ohio) eat the cats and dogs of the neighbors.

This was expressed by the Colombian head of state when speaking at the ‘International Conference on Saving the Planet, a New World Order with Justice, Climate Change, Human Rights and Peace’, held in Chicago (Illinois), where he referred to a video in which a dead dog appears and which was used by Trump’s campaign against migrants.

“The video is being used by a candidate, and I have to express my annoyance and protest against candidate Trump because he is broadcasting it massively under the label that Haitians are eating the domestic animals of American citizens,” said Petro.

The Colombian president added that these campaign actions could result in racist violence against Haitian migrants.

“I have to raise my voice in protest, that is not done,” he said, adding that he himself has been a victim of such manipulation.

In this regard, he recalled that when he was campaigning for the Presidency of Colombia, Trump referred to him as a terrorist.

“Doing what he did is terrorism, that is terrorism,” added the Colombian president, who affirmed that politics cannot be based on racial discrimination and xenophobia.

Petro also commented on the global implications of the domestic politics of the United States, which he said “influences the whole world and specifically Colombia, and with great power.”

The Colombian leader also said that he has the right to express his opinion when Latinos are “insulted” and “trampled on.”

Petro will be in New York next week, where he will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, on the first day of the 79th session of that organization.

Colombia / EFE