Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived in gang-controlled Port-au-Prince on Friday (July 18) for his second visit to Haiti this year to booster ties with the embattled Caribbean nation.

Petro's visit comes just days before Colombia's independence day on Sunday (July 20), a milestone historically facilitated by Haiti which provided arms and soldiers to help liberate Colombia and other South American nations from Spanish rule.

The trip represents a strategic shift by Petro, who amid mounting domestic challenges and strained relations with the Trump administration, is pursuing renewed engagement with Haiti where 17 Colombian mercenaries remain jailed for the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Haiti faces a worsening conflict fueled by powerful, heavily armed gangs that have driven nearly 1.3 million people from their homes and are expanding to new areas despite efforts from national police.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (JULY 18, 2025) (COLOMBIAN PRESIDENCY HANDOUT - Access all)

1. (MUTE) COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIRPLANE

2. (MUTE) HAITIAN ARMED FORCES STANDING WITH HAITIAN FLAGS

3. (MUTE) COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO (IN WHITE SHIRT) GETTING OFF AIRPLANE

4. (MUTE) HAITIAN OFFICIALS WAITING TO RECEIVE PETRO

5. (MUTE) PETRO GREETING CHAIRMAN OF THE TRANSITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL OF HAITI, FRITZ JEAN, AND HAITIAN OFFICIALS

6. (MUTE) FLAGS OF COLOMBIA AND HAITI WAVING

7. (MUTE) PETRO AND JEAN WALKING

8. ORCHESTRA PLAYING COLOMBIAN ANTHEM

9. PETRO AND JEAN LISTENING

10. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF HAITIAN MILITARY PERSONNEL DURING HONORS

11. (MUTE) PETRO GREETING HAITIAN MILITARY AUTHORITIES

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT, GUSTAVO PETRO SAYING:

"The time has come to truly unite, the number of republics in the Caribbean have to unify with the progressive republics on the continent and we are the majority in this corner of the planet."

13. (MUTE) PETRO TAKING PART IN INAUGURAL CEREMONY FOR COLOMBIAN EMBASSY TO HAITI

14.(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT, GUSTAVO PETRO SAYING:

"Like in the old days, Bolivar and Petion, generals of the republic, I believe, call us to make a decision, that is to never let ourselves be enslaved but to fight again for freedom and love."

15. (MUTE) PETRO GREETING HAITIAN OFFICIALS IN FRONT OF THE EMBASSY

16. OFFICIAL HOUSE

17. VARIOUS OF PETRO MEETING WITH HAITIAN OFFICIALS

18. VARIOUS OF COLOMBIANS AND HAITIANS OFFICIALS SEATED

19. OFFICIAL DINNER IN PROGRESS