‘Unprecedented initiative’: Colombian president orders seized gold sent to support Gaza
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced an unprecedented initiative to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which involves sending gold seized from drug traffickers to finance medical care for injured Palestinian children.
The move comes as part of Colombia’s support for the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, Colombian media reported.
Petro wrote on his account on the X platform: “I have ordered the National Agency for Asset Management to send gold seized from drug trafficking networks to finance the treatment of wounded children in Gaza.”
He said his country will also submit a draft resolution to the United Nations calling for the formation of an international force tasked with rebuilding Gaza and ensuring security and stability in the territory after the war.
The National Agency for Asset Management (SAE), part of the Colombian Ministry of Finance, said it has begun studying the legal and technical mechanisms to implement President Petro’s directives, noting the step comes within Colombia’s humanitarian and international commitments.
Colombia’s initiative comes as UN estimates indicate the cost of rebuilding Gaza could exceed $70 billion, with $20 billion needed in the first three years of reconstruction.
Under the truce agreement brokered by Washington and Arab states, reconstruction projects are expected to begin in parallel with the implementation of a prisoner-exchange deal that includes the release of Palestinian detainees in return for the handover of Israeli captives under the supervision of an international committee.
Since the outbreak of the war, President Gustavo Petro has been among the most prominent Latin American leaders backing the Palestinian cause. He has repeatedly accused the Israeli government of committing “genocide” in Gaza and severed diplomatic ties with it last year. He has also repeatedly called for urgent international action “to stop the war and rebuild the territory.”
Despite its limited influence in the Middle East, Colombia is one of the most politically active Latin American countries in supporting the Palestinians, particularly on humanitarian and medical issues; it has previously received injured Palestinians for treatment in its hospitals.
