Colombia kicks out Argentine diplomats after Milei calls Petro 'terrorist'

Colombia has ordered the expulsion of Argentine diplomats from their embassy in the Andean nation, Colombia's Foreign Ministry said, citing "denigrating" comments by Argentine President Javier Milei about Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

"The Argentine president's comments have deteriorated the trust of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of President [Gustavo] Petro, who was democratically elected," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In this context, the Government of Colombia orders the expulsion of diplomats from the Argentine embassy in Colombia," the statement added.

"The scope of this decision will be communicated to the Argentine Embassy through diplomatic institutional channels."

In a recent interview with news channel CNN, which has not yet been aired in full, Milei called Petro a "terrorist," "murderer" and "communist."

In January, Colombia recalled its ambassador to Argentina after similar comments from Milei.

'Insults speak more about Milei than Petro'

Before the ministry's announcement, Colombian Ambassador to Argentina Camilo Romero denounced Milei's comments, saying it's clear that the Argentine president will always "respond with insults" whenever he's asked about his Colombian counterpart.

"On the two previous occasions, the Colombian president has preferred to downplay these offences. Milei's words speak more about him than about Petro," he said on X, previously Twitter.

Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, is a former member of the long-demobilised M-19 guerrilla movement.

Milei also took swipes at other regional leaders in clips of the interview, including Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.