Colombia denounces free trade agreement with Israel after Gaza flotilla interception

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced that Colombia is denouncing its free trade agreement with Israel and confirmed that the entire Israeli diplomatic delegation will be leaving the country.

The statement came in response to Israel’s interception of the Sumud ("Fleet of Resilience") flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as per foreign media.

According to Petro, two Colombian citizens aboard the aid ship were detained in international waters. Earlier, French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassane reported that approximately 70 activists had been detained by Israeli forces. Colombian media outlet Columbia One identified the detained citizens as Manuela Bedoya and Luna Barreto.

President Petro stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have committed an “international crime” if the reports are accurate. He instructed the Colombian Foreign Ministry to file all appropriate complaints, including with Israeli courts, and called on international lawyers to assist their Colombian counterparts.

The interception occurred on the evening of October 1 when Israeli ships blocked the Sumud flotilla just hours away from Gaza. Soldiers reportedly boarded the vessels, an action the flotilla described as illegal. According to its own data, 13 ships have been intercepted so far, out of approximately 40 in the area.

Launched in mid-2025, the Sumud Fleet is an international maritime initiative aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza. It comprises more than 50 ships and thousands of participants from over 44 countries.

The initiative has received backing from over ten foreign ministers, Italian politicians and political parties, members of the Spanish and Portuguese parliaments, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has claimed that the flotilla is linked to the Palestinian group Hamas, with which Israel is engaged in conflict in Gaza.

The ministry stated that the flotilla’s purpose was solely “provocation” and that alternative means to deliver aid had been offered. 

The ministry later confirmed that the detained participants had been taken to an Israeli port and were safe, including Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

By Tamilla Hasanova