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Gustavo Petro

Gustavo Petro

President of Colombia

Appears in 3 stories

Born: April 19, 1960 (age 65 years), Ciénaga de Oro, Colombia
Party: Historic Pact
Children: Nicolás Petro, Sofía Petro, Andrea Petro, and more
Spouse: Verónica Alcocer García (m. 2000)
Education: Universidad Externado de Colombia (1982), UCLouvain, Pontifical Javierian University, and more
Previous offices: Member of the Senate of Colombia (2018–2022), Mayor of Bogota (2014–2015), Mayor of Bogota (2012–2014), and more
Presidential term: August 7, 2022 –

Notable Quotes

"The exclusion of Cepeda from the primaries is a blow to democracy." — February 2026, after the National Electoral Council barred his party's candidate from the left-wing primary

"I will never allow Colombians to be brought back in handcuffs on flights." — January 2025, before reversing position on deportation flights

"Total Peace focuses on engaging in peace talks with rebel, paramilitary, and urban armed groups still active in the country."

Stories

Colombia reshuffles Congress and narrows presidential field ahead of May vote

Rule Changes

Serving final weeks as president; designated DEA 'priority target'; under 10 domestic investigations for election interference; will lose presidential immunity August 7

Colombia's 10-month election cycle ended June 21 when conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella defeated leftist senator Iván Cepeda in the presidential runoff, 49.65% to 48.70% — a margin of fewer than 250,000 votes. His 12.9 million votes set a record for any Colombian presidential candidate. He takes office August 7.

Updated 3 days ago

Colombia's total peace gambit

Rule Changes

Final year of term, facing collapsed negotiations

For five months, Colombia's largest drug cartel sat across from government negotiators in Qatar, working toward something unprecedented: a peace deal with an organization the United States had just labeled a terrorist group. On February 4, the Gulf Clan walked away from the table, accusing President Gustavo Petro of betraying the talks by handing their leader's name to the Trump administration as a joint military target.

Updated May 26

The US capture of Nicolás Maduro

Force in Play

Condemned US operation, deployed troops to Venezuela border, requested UN Security Council meeting

Delta Force operators captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas at 2 a.m. on January 3 as explosions rocked the capital and helicopters evacuated them to the USS Iwo Jima, bound for New York. By Saturday afternoon, Maduro arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn—the first American military capture of a sitting head of state since Manuel Noriega in 1989.

Updated May 19