Petro, in final Cuba visit, urges US to avoid invasion and open dialogue with Trump and Rubio

A symbolic farewell

Petro arrived in Havana on Friday evening, 31 July, received by Vice Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal, then met with President Miguel Díaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution with military honors. The visit, his third as president, was his last official trip before leaving office on 7 August. He chose Cuba to show support for what he called "la Cuba agredida" and to distance himself from his successor, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella.

Call for dialogue

Speaking to Cuban media on Friday night, Petro urged the international community to stand with Cuba and proposed a direct dialogue with the US.

I came to call on humanity to show solidarity with Cuba, so that there is no invasion, no missile launch, and to propose as an alternative, even to the current US government, to Mr. Rubio and Mr. Trump, that a dialogue between civilizations be established, which must be equal while being different.

He added that the Caribbean and Latin America form a distinct civilization and that dialogue could be "the first bridge of unity for humanity amid diversity, for life and for freedom."

US-Cuba tensions

The backdrop is a sharp deterioration in US-Cuba relations since January 2026, when Washington imposed an oil blockade and additional sanctions. The measures have caused widespread blackouts and shortages of food, fuel, water, and medicine, pushing the economy near collapse. President Trump has called Cuba "an extraordinary threat" to US national security and has said he could "take control" of the country. Petro, a critic of the maximum pressure policy, said earlier on social media:

I want from Cuba to oppose a war in the Caribbean. Neither missiles, nor invasion, nor blockade are solutions to humanity's problems.

He also cited a recent incident in which missiles targeting drug traffickers killed 261 people, including 50 Colombians, according to US intelligence.

Successor's break

Petro's visit stands in stark contrast to the incoming government. President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, who takes office on 7 August, announced last Sunday that he will break diplomatic relations with Cuba and Nicaragua, calling them "tyrannies," and close Colombia's embassy in Havana. Cuba's government responded that the move shows "clear subordination" to the United States. Petro, in turn, accused the new government of being directed by "Netanyahu, drug trafficking and those who have produced genocide in Colombia," and said it would also sever ties with countries that opposed "the genocide in Gaza," including South Africa, Malaysia, Algeria, Haiti, and Palestine.

Petro's defense of Cuba

Throughout his four-year term, Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, maintained close ties with Havana. Cuba hosted peace talks with the ELN guerrilla group and trained some 2,000 Colombian doctors. Petro also thanked the island for mediating the peace process with the FARC under former President Juan Manuel Santos and for developing a COVID-19 vaccine that saved millions. He is one of the few Latin American leaders to defend Cuba, alongside Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum. His return to Colombia is scheduled for Saturday.