Colombian president travels to Cuba to oppose U.S. military threats

BOGOTA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday he would travel to Cuba to express opposition to what he described as recent U.S. threats of military intervention against the island.

"Now there is talk of invasions and missiles on the island of Cuba," Petro wrote on X, noting that Cuba had trained 2,000 Colombian doctors; helped former President Juan Manuel Santos make peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; and saved thousands of people around the world with its COVID-19 vaccine.

Petro said that "neither the missiles nor the invasion, nor the blockade are solutions" to the current problems facing humanity.

"I want, from Cuba, to oppose a war in the Caribbean," he said, adding that the missiles used in the Caribbean against drug traffickers had killed ordinary people and, as U.S. intelligence agencies had confirmed, "were completely useless."

Petro said that 261 people were killed in the missile attacks, including about 50 Colombians.

Petro is expected to arrive in Havana on Friday for his third official visit to Cuba, after trips in June and September 2023. ■