HAVANA: Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro, visiting Havana, called for efforts to prevent a US invasion of Cuba and urged President Donald Trump to engage in dialogue, according to remarks published on Saturday by Cuban media.
Trump, who has made no secret of his desire for regime change in Cuba, says the communist island located 150 kilometers off Florida’s coast represents an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and has even said Washington could be “taking Cuba”.
“I came to call on humanity to show solidarity with Cuba, so that there is no invasion here or missile strike, and to propose dialogue as an alternative, including to the current US government, to (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio and Trump,” said Petro.
The Colombian leader arrived in Cuba on Friday for an official visit before his term ends next week.
The Cubadebate news website said Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia’s history, spoke to Cuban media after he was welcomed with military honours by his counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution, where the two held official talks.
“It would be good if, amid the danger looming over Cuba, it could be transformed from a danger into a setting for that dialogue,” added Petro, a close ally of Havana and a critic of Trump’s maximum-pressure policy toward the island.
“Now is the time for dialogue,” stressed Petro, who concluded his visit on Saturday.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026