Mexican President Andrés López Obrador replied on Thursday to Javier Milei’s comments, in which the Argentinian President called Obrador “an ignorant man”, and supported his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, who decided to expel Argentinian diplomats from his country after “degrading” comments made by Milei.
“Milei said I am ‘an ignorant man’ because I called him a ‘conservative fascist’. He is correct”, wrote López Obrador on his X account.
In an interview to CNN, in which he was asked about his relationship with the Mexican President, Milei answered: “I am flattered when an ignorant man like López Obrador speaks ill of me”.
During the interview, which will be aired next Sunday and from which some extracts were made public, Milei also took aim at Petro, calling him a “murderous communist who is sinking Colombia”.
In reply, the Colombian Foreign Ministry expelled Argentinian diplomats from the country, after repudiating Milei’s comments.
“The Argentinian president’s comments have deteriorated the trust of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of President Petro, who was democratically elected”, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On Thursday, López Obrador wrote: “Big hug for Gustavo Petro”.
The Puebla Group, a forum that brings together left-wing political leaders from Latin America and Spain, also expressed on Thursday his support to the Colombian President and spoke of a “diplomatic crisis”.
“President Milei’s comments against President Petro are an attack on the region. International relations should be more responsible. The harvest of President Milei’s 100 days in government is a diplomatic crisis”, they wrote on X.