Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned during his speech at Plaza de Bolívar that U.S. intelligence agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would attempt to lure him to the United States to silence his voice.

"They could try to extract the president of Colombia with the Mossad, the CIA, the DEA, and put him in a prison somewhere far from the United States where his voice can't be heard," he said.

Petro linked this alleged persecution to his speech before the UN General Assembly, in which he spoke"from the heart" and "without reading a single comma." "I believe my last speech at the United Nations made a difference, and that's why they're punishing me today," he added.

The president maintained his confidence that the democratic forces of the United States and Latin America will prevent any capture attempt."The voice of truth would set us free and would finally tear down the walls and the attempt to silence thought," he concluded.

"I trust that the democratic strength of the United States, which comes from workers, from youth, from women, and from different ethnic groups that are the foundation of this new American nation, would not leave me alone... and that in the strength of Latin America, which is in its people, I would not spend much time in those dungeons."