Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
Washington, DC –Today, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. (TX-28), Co-Chair of the Congressional Colombia Caucus, released the following statement regarding recent comments by Colombian President Gustavo Petro:
“I condemn President Petro’s recent remarks about Israel in the strongest possible terms. The President’s refusal to condemn Hamas after Saturday’s barbaric attack is shameful enough, but his subsequent comments – in which he compared Israelis to Nazis – are unconscionable. As Israel exercises its indisputable right to self-defense under international law, President Petro accused the Jewish State of committing ‘genocide’ and turning Gaza into a ‘concentration camp.’ These offensive and baseless comments fan the flames of antisemitism and have no place in public discourse,” said Dr. Cuellar, a Senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Following the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas, resulting in the tragic deaths of more than 1,000 civilians, Israel, a significant supplier of arms to the Colombian military, announced the suspension of security exports to Colombia. This decision was prompted by President Petro’s remarks, which likened Israelis to “Nazis” in response to their military actions against the large-scale terrorist attack.
In the week following the terrorist incident on October 7, where over 1,300 people lost their lives, including more than 1,000 civilians, and at least 155 were taken hostage in Gaza, President Petro expressed his solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip through various social media posts. In one statement, Colombia’s first-ever leftist president drew parallels between Israel’s efforts to combat the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza and the historical persecution of Jews by the Nazis. He criticized Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s declaration of a “complete siege” on Gaza, equating it to the language used by the Nazis against Jews.
President Petro emphasized the importance of democratic nations preventing the resurgence of Nazism in international politics.
In response to the terror attack, Israel declared its intention to eliminate Hamas, which had resulted in extensive casualties and suffering. The victims included men, women, children, and even infants, with some enduring mutilation, and there were reports of rape and the torture of children. Tragically, entire families were wiped out in some instances.
Over 1,500 gunmen were involved in the invasion, accompanied by a barrage of 5,000 rockets targeting towns and cities across Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Hamas continued its rocket attacks on southern and central Israel, leading to further injuries and casualties.
Related story on how Hamas planned the attack to Israel for two years. Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, provided a rare inside perspective on the Palestinian Islamic terrorist organization’s motivations and preparations behind the recent attack and massacre operation against Israel.
