A scheduled encounter between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Colombian President Gustavo Petro was quietly canceled due to pressure from the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported Thursday based on multiple individuals aware of the situation.

The pair had planned a closed-door session followed by an open event focused on Western democracy, one insider explained to the Washington Post, timed with Petro's American visit tied to Colombia's rotating role as president of the United Nations Security Council.

A State Department official stated that the gathering would have breached visa limits imposed on Petro after his remarks criticizing US backing of Israel's Gaza operations and his call for American troops to disobey Trump in favor of humanitarian directives.

"A visa is a privilege, not a right," the official noted. "Any individual's US visa faces revocation risk if they enter the country and brazenly urge US soldiers to ignore directives from the elected president."

"Under our UN headquarters agreements, we permit diplomats at the UN, yet Office of Foreign Assets Control and visa sanctions stay active," the official continued.

Petro has labeled the US as complicit in genocide in Gaza while denouncing American strikes on suspected drug vessels and the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Petro Penalized for Criticizing Trump Administration, Analyst Claims

Adam Isacson, a Colombia specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America, likened the curbs on Petro to past US actions against figures such as former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and Iran's UN General Assembly delegation from last year.

"One does not need to favor Gustavo Petro to see he does not belong in the same group as those figures," Isacson told the Washington Post, warning that "If this sets a fresh standard where leaders who critique this administration see their UN trips cut short, they will cease attending."

"He is no dictator - his term concludes in two months," Isacson added regarding Petro. "It seems he faces consequences simply for challenging the Trump administration."

The White House offered no response on whether Trump played a direct part in halting the Petro-Mamdani meeting.