President Petro proposed moving the Statue of Liberty from New York to Cartagena: "Democracy and freedom."

During his presidential address this Tuesday, July 15, President Gustavo Petro proposed that the Statue of Liberty—one of the emblems of the United States —be moved from New York to Cartagena.

The president wanted to focus his address to Colombians on the current health crisis, but as always happens in his speeches, he addressed other topics, this time the situation of migrants in the United States, and referred to his government.

"So they think we're inferior and that because we're white, they're a superior race. Only Hitler believes that," Petro said.

He then exclaimed: “Let’s agree on what is relevant, democracy and freedom, otherwise, that statue in New York must be moved to Cartagena!”

"Because those who did fight for freedom were the Black people who founded the first free territory in all of America, located near Cartagena and called San Basilio de Palenque, which this government finally made a municipality," he added.

The head of state's references to the United States came after several days of calm in relations between the two countries following a crisis, and Petro's retraction that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and some Republican senators were aware of an alleged coup plot against him.

President Petro also criticized the situation he said migrants are experiencing in the United States.

"So how are they going to treat us like slaves, in chains, on airplanes, chasing us through the streets of New York? They killed a Colombian woman for that," the President asserted in his speech.

He also brought up the Alcatraz migrant detention center in Florida and a visit to the site by Democratic congressmen.

"The Democrats have already said, it's a crime against humanity, please don't commit it. Here we talk about democracy and freedom, both the Anglo-Saxons who arrived on the Puritan ships and the Latin Americans who have been here for 30,000 years," he said.

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