Colombia appoints first ambassador to Palestine

The ministry declared that Jorge Iván Ospina, the former mayor of Cali and a close associate of President Gustavo Petro, has been appointed as Colombia’s first ambassador to Palestine.

According to the Palestinian news agency SAMA, the ministry stated that this appointment aligns with the continuation of the left-leaning Petro government’s policies in support of the Palestinian people.

Colombia’s first ambassador to Palestine, the former mayor of Cali—the country’s third-largest city—is the son of Iván Ospina, a former commander of the disbanded M-19 armed group, of which President Petro was once a member.

In May 2024, President Petro announced that Colombia would sever diplomatic ties with the Zionist regime, accusing the cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing “genocide” in Gaza. A year earlier, Petro had announced his country’s decision to open an embassy in Ramallah, in the West Bank.

In this regard, official sources confirmed that Ospina’s appointment as Colombia’s ambassador to Palestine was formalized following approval by Palestinian authorities on May 5, with a decree signed by Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia on May 22.

However, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet specified whether Ospina will be based in Ramallah or in another city or neighboring country.