The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, generated controversy by comparing the deportation of illegal immigrants by the United States to the mass send-offs of people to concentration camps during World War II by Nazi Germany. These statements were made during the swearing-in of Laura Sarabia as the new chancellor of the country.
Petro mentioned the diplomatic crisis that arose with the U.S. after the disapproval of the entry of two planes with deportees last Sunday. This measure was taken because, according to the U.S., the deportees were not receiving dignified treatment. The reaction of Donald Trump, the U.S. president, was swift and translated into the imposition of tariffs and sanctions against Colombia.
In an attempt to contextualize the situation, Petro alluded to the way Nazis used trains and railway lines to transport Jews, socialists, and communists to concentration camps during the war. In the words of the Colombian president: 'There will be a political discussion, for example, if they are not repeating the same mistake as the Germans in 1943 because they used trains and railway lines to take whole cars full of people to the concentration camp.'
Amid the diplomatic tensions, Petro emphasized the importance of drawing lessons from these episodes, pointing out that the U.S. should avoid treating deported individuals in a humiliating manner, as happened in the incident with Trump.
