Colombian president allocates seized gold to aid Gaza, calls for international rebuilding force

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced an unprecedented initiative to support the reconstruction of Gaza, ordering that gold seized from drug traffickers be used to fund medical care for injured Palestinian children.

According to Colombian media, the move comes as part of Colombia’s support for the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

In a post on his account on X, Petro said: “I have ordered the National Agency for Asset Management to send gold confiscated from drug networks to finance the treatment of injured children in Gaza.”

He added that Colombia will also submit a draft resolution to the United Nations proposing the establishment of an international force to rebuild Gaza and maintain security and stability in the strip after the war.

The National Agency for Asset Management (SAE), which operates under the Colombian Ministry of Finance, confirmed that it has begun examining the legal and technical procedures required to implement the president’s directive. The agency said the initiative reflects Colombia’s humanitarian and international commitments.

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The Colombian proposal comes as United Nations estimates suggest that the cost of rebuilding Gaza could exceed 70 billion US dollars, with around 20 billion needed during the first three years of reconstruction.

Under the truce agreement brokered by the United States and several Arab countries, reconstruction projects are expected to begin alongside the implementation of a prisoner exchange deal that involves the release of Palestinian detainees in return for Israeli captives, under international supervision.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, President Gustavo Petro has been one of Latin America’s most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause. He has repeatedly accused the Israeli government of committing “genocide” in Gaza and cut diplomatic ties with Israel last year. He has also consistently urged urgent international action “to end the war and rebuild the strip.”

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