Bogotá Cuts Ties With Israel Over ‘Genocidal’ War in Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at deteriorating relations between Israel and Latin America, the Solomon Islands’ new prime minister, and French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirming the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.

Israel Loses a Friend

Colombia severed diplomatic relations with Israel on Thursday, becoming the third Latin American country to do so since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. “If Palestine dies, humanity dies,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said during a May Day rally on Wednesday, in which he called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “genocidal.”

Israel issued a sharp rebuke in response. Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Petro “antisemitic and hateful” and accused him of siding with Hamas.

Colombia once had a close relationship with Israel. In the late 1980s, Bogotá purchased Israeli Kfir fighter jets to use against remote guerrilla camps, ultimately helping the nation to debilitate the militant Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. For decades after, Colombia regularly engaged with Israel’s military, including buying Israeli-built warplanes and machine guns to tackle drug cartels and rebel groups. Both countries also signed a free trade agreement in 2020.

However, since coming to office in 2022, Petro—the country’s first leftist president—has shifted away from the position held by his conservative and centrist predecessors. After Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant compared Hamas fighters to “animals” in October 2023 and vowed to deny food, fuel, and electricity to Gaza, Petro compared Israel’s military operations to those of Nazi Germany. The United States and Israel quickly condemned his comments, and Israel pledged to stop all security exports to Colombia.

Later that month, Petro and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a fellow leftist, recalled their countries’ respective ambassadors from Israel. In January, Petro endorsed South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, and Colombia filed a declaration of intervention to join the case in April, following Nicaragua’s similar motion. Colombia also suspended weapons purchases from Israel in February in response to Israeli troops opening fire near a group of Palestinians collecting food from an aid convoy in Gaza City, sparking a stampede that killed more than 100 people and injured 760 others.

Colombia’s decision to sever relations marks the latest Latin American shift away from Israel in a region with historic ties to Palestinian movements. Last October, Bolivia—which also has a left-wing government—broke ties with Israel, citing its “aggressive and disproportionate” offensive in Gaza. Days later, Honduras recalled its own ambassador, and in mid-November, Belize suspended diplomatic ties.

Numerous Latin American countries, including Colombia, have called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. But discussions to secure a cease-fire agreement remain ongoing. Israel’s war cabinet convened on Thursday to debate the proposed truce, which would include two phases to release hostages, a 40-day cease-fire, and increased aid deliveries to Gaza. Senior ministers also discussed Israel’s potential offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hamas officials said on Thursday that they are still discussing the truce’s terms and will send a delegation to Egypt “as soon as possible” to finalize talks.

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What We’re Following

New Pacific leadership. Solomon Islands parliamentarians elected former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as the nation’s new prime minister on Thursday. General elections on April 17 delivered no clear winner, forcing lawmakers to use backroom discussions to form a government. They voted 31 to 18 in favor of Manele, defeating previous opposition leader Matthew Wale. Lawmakers in the Solomon Islands are not bound to political parties.

Like outgoing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Manele is a China-friendly politician at a time when Washington and Beijing are vying for influence in the Indo-Pacific. While serving as foreign minister, Manele helped Honiara switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China in 2019 and struck a secret security agreement with Beijing in 2022 that gives Chinese ships full access to the Solomon Islands. The United States fears that this could lead Beijing to establish a military base there, though both nations deny such plans.

Macron’s message for Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron turned heads on Thursday when he told the Economist that Paris would not rule out sending French troops to Ukraine. He said the issue would “legitimately” arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian lines and Kyiv asked for soldiers, which it has so far not done. “At the NATO summit in the summer of 2022, we all ruled out the delivery of tanks, deep-strike missiles, aircraft. We are now all in the process of doing this, so it would be wrong to rule out the rest,” Macron said.

The French leader warned Europe last week that the continent “could die,” arguing that Russian aggression poses an existential threat to Europe. Macron first publicly suggested sending troops to Ukraine in February—just days after Kyiv marked the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion—but faced heavy European criticism in response.

Migrant aid. The European Union announced a roughly $1 billion aid package for Lebanon on Thursday to help boost its border control efforts and reduce the number of asylum-seekers and other migrants, many of whom are Syrian refugees, from leaving Lebanon via the Mediterranean Sea for Cyprus and Italy. The funds will go toward supporting the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as well as providing training, equipment, and infrastructure to improve border management. More than 2,000 people arrived in Cyprus by sea during the first three months of 2024, compared with just 78 people in the same period last year.

“We understand the challenges that Lebanon faces with hosting Syrian refugees and other displaced persons,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. She said aid distribution will begin this year and last through 2027. The package will also help Lebanon bolster education and health services as well as support economic reforms.

Odds and Ends

Researchers discovered the world’s largest underwater sinkhole in Mexico’s Chetumal Bay—but were unable to find the bottom. The report, published on Monday in Frontiers in Marine Science, says the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole is at least 1,378 feet deep, meaning New York City’s Empire State Building (minus its antenna) could fit inside with plenty of wiggle room. Scientists said more advanced technology must be used to continue their investigation.