Gustavo Petro and Luis Carlos Reyes clashed over a ban on coal exports to Israel. He accused him of being complicit in the genocide in Gaza.

President Gustavo Petro lashed out at his former Minister of Commerce, Luis Carlos Reyes, in his speech at the CELAC Energy Ministerial Meeting. The president went so far as to say that his former official is "complicit" in the genocide in Gaza because he allowed companies like Glencore to continue exporting coal to Israel.

"I want to know what we're doing with Switzerland, which is transporting Colombian coal to make the C-shaped bombs for Israel when the President said no," Petro asserted, referring to the fact that Colombian coal would be used to produce the steel that would later be used in the manufacture of Israeli weapons.

It was at this point that he singled out Reyes, since the decree banning coal exports supposedly excluded companies that exported this mineral. "My Minister of Commerce, Reyes, deceived me. He didn't submit the decree to the legal authorities, or I would have realized there were two little words that excluded coal exporters from the presidential ban on coal exports. Reyes, an accomplice to the genocide in Gaza," the president said.

Given the repercussions of the presidential speech, former minister Reyes was quick to comment on social media. "President, we at the Ministry of Commerce waged a fierce fight against the clause that rendered the decree harmless," he asserted.

According to Reyes, it was President Petro himself who insisted on this point: "Even so, you yourself imposed it, claiming that the Mossad had infiltrated us and that if we didn't implement it, the Constitutional Court would overturn the decree."

In his speech this Wednesday, President Petro insisted that Colombian coal must be prevented from being used by Israel. "The export of coal to Israel is prohibited; it is an order from the president of Colombia," he declared. "They should use the WTO treaty, which states that any treaty signed with a country that violates humanitarian law is canceled," the president added.

Along these lines, the Colombian president even requested that Swiss and La Guajira citizens block the operations of Glencore, the company responsible for the exploitation of the Cerrejón coal mines, if it continues to export the mineral to Israel.

"I ask Glencore to use its unused infrastructure for Colombian society," said Gustavo Petro, who even raised the possibility of unilaterally renegotiating the concession contract granted to Glencore if the company ignores the Colombian government's calls.

In his message, the president emphasized a recurring theme in his speech, such as the energy transition, abandoning all fossil fuels, including natural gas and oils. Along these lines, the Colombian president asked the Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma, to withdraw subsidies for biodiesel and ethanol.

"I've asked you, Minister, to remove the subsidy for ethanol and biodiesel, just as we removed it from diesel," Petro stated, once again questioning the finance ministers for covering the deficit in the diesel and gasoline stabilization fund. "We practically ran out of funding because we were against humanity and life," Petro concluded, closing this point of his speech by saying that it was an order that must be complied with.

At another point, Gustavo Petro called on the president of the United States to establish an electrical interconnection between South America and North America. "I tell Trump, 'Brother, think about business, about business. We have one year left. How could you think of saving the money?'"

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado