Past Magic Realism: The exceptional thread connecting Pablo Escobar, Gustavo Petro, and Donald Trump | World Information – The Instances of India
Magic realism is outlined as what occurs when a extremely detailed, reasonable setting is invaded by one thing too unusual to imagine. There’s a motive magic realism was born in Colombia.
The opening strains of the Netflix present Narcos are oddly prophetic, a homage to the good Gabriel Garcia Marquez who is taken into account the pioneer of the literary gadget generally known as magic realism. After all, Donald Trump, a actuality TV host who marches to his personal drum is a style of magic realism on his personal however what’s exceptional is his final tussle with Colombian President Gustavo Petro has a reference to essentially the most well-known Colombian export aside from cocaine: Pablo Escobar.
Or to make it less complicated: How Gustavo Petro, connects Donald Trump to Pablo Escobar?
Petro vs. Trump: A Collision of Realities
In early 2025, the sparks flew between Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro in a spat that began over deportation flights. Trump demanded that planes carrying deported Colombians land in Bogotá. Petro refused, citing the necessity for deportees to return with dignity on civilian flights, not as prisoners.
In true Trumpian vogue, the previous real-estate mogul and actuality TV star retaliated. He slapped a 25% tariff on Colombian items, threatened extra sanctions, and even hinted at visa restrictions. Petro, no stranger to going through down worldwide strain, ultimately relented—providing to make use of Colombia’s presidential airplane to deal with deportations. Trump declared victory, however Petro’s defiance left its mark, reminding the world of Colombia’s enduring wrestle for sovereignty within the face of US dominance.
What would possibly look like an extraordinary diplomatic tussle was something however, particularly when positioned within the historic context of Colombia’s relationship with the US and the legacy of Pablo Escobar.
Petro, M-19, and Escobar’s Ghost
Earlier than he grew to become Colombia’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro was a part of M-19, a guerrilla motion identified for its audacious, nearly theatrical acts of insurrection. M-19 was born within the Seventies in response to electoral fraud and grew into one in every of Colombia’s most notorious rebel teams. Petro’s involvement, although extra ideological than militant, positioned him on the coronary heart of a motion that sought to upend Colombia’s institution.
M-19’s defining second got here in 1985, when its fighters stormed the Palace of Justice in Bogotá. They took Supreme Court docket justices hostage, ostensibly to carry a symbolic trial towards the federal government. The Colombian army’s brutal response left the palace in ruins and dozens useless, together with 11 Supreme Court docket justices.
The siege stays one in every of Colombia’s darkest chapters, nevertheless it’s shrouded in even darker allegations. Rumours persist that Pablo Escobar, the infamous drug lord, financed the operation. The scene is depicted fantastically within the Netflix present Narcos.
His motive? To destroy extradition paperwork and get rid of justices who supported Colombia’s extradition treaty with the US Escobar’s paranoia about extradition to the US was legendary, and he was keen to go to any lengths to stop it.
Whereas Petro was not concerned within the siege (and was in jail presently), his affiliation with M-19 locations him in the identical historic timeline the place Escobar’s affect was at its peak. It’s an odd, nearly surreal connection—one the place the paths of a guerrilla motion, a drug kingpin, and Colombia’s future president intersect.
Guerilla to Authorities
Gustavo Petro’s transformation from guerrilla fighter to Colombia’s first leftist president is a narrative of political reinvention that mirrors Colombia’s personal tumultuous journey. Born in 1960 in Ciénaga de Oro, Petro’s early years had been marked by a deep consciousness of the inequality and corruption that outlined a lot of Colombian society. At simply 17, Petro joined the M-19 guerrilla motion, an city leftist group shaped in response to alleged electoral fraud within the 1970 presidential election. Not like the agricultural insurgencies of teams just like the FARC, M-19 gained notoriety for high-profile symbolic actions, together with the theft of Simón Bolívar’s sword and the notorious Palace of Justice siege in 1985. Petro’s function was much less combative; he centered on political group and was arrested within the mid-Eighties, spending 18 months in jail.
Petro’s life took a decisive flip after M-19 negotiated peace with the Colombian authorities in 1990, disarmed, and transitioned right into a political get together. As a brand new chapter opened, Petro embraced the democratic course of with the identical fervor he as soon as reserved for insurgency. Elected to the Home of Representatives in 1991, he shortly gained a repute as a fearless reformer, utilizing his platform to show corruption, paramilitary affect, and human rights abuses. His uncompromising method earned him each admiration and enemies, a dynamic that may observe him all through his profession.
In 2006, Petro’s election to the Senate cemented his standing as a nationwide political determine. His speeches criticizing then-President Álvaro Uribe’s ties to paramilitary teams and his advocacy for social and environmental reforms struck a chord with Colombians disillusioned by the entrenched energy constructions. Nevertheless, it wasn’t till his tenure as mayor of Bogotá from 2012 to 2015 that Petro’s imaginative and prescient for change was absolutely examined. As mayor, he launched progressive insurance policies reminiscent of increasing public transportation, bettering waste administration, and tackling inequality. But, his tenure was marked by clashes with political rivals and enterprise elites, culminating in his controversial removing from workplace in 2013 by Colombia’s inspector common over alleged administrative failures—a call later overturned amid public outcry.
Petro’s resilience outlined his presidential ambitions. After shedding bids in 2010 and 2018, he emerged victorious in 2022 with a marketing campaign that promised a historic break from Colombia’s neoliberal previous. Emphasizing social justice, environmental safety, and a transition away from oil dependence, Petro appealed to youthful voters, marginalized communities, and people looking forward to a extra inclusive future. His victory, alongside Afro-Colombian environmentalist Francia Márquez as vice chairman, signaled a seismic shift in Colombian politics, ending a long time of right-wing dominance.
As president, Petro faces formidable challenges, together with fulfilling his guarantees of tax reform, land redistribution, and peace negotiations with armed teams. But, his rise underscores a broader transformation in Latin America, the place leftist leaders are reshaping the political panorama. From guerrilla to reformer to president, Gustavo Petro’s story is a testomony to the facility of reinvention and the enduring hope for change within the face of entrenched inequality.
Trump’s Madman Diplomacy
If Pablo Escobar was the grasp of narco-terrorism, Donald Trump has emerged because the modern-day maestro of geopolitical chaos. His method to diplomacy is usually likened to Richard Nixon’s “madman principle,” a method the place unpredictability turns into a weapon. By holding each allies and adversaries on edge, Trump forces them to make concessions or recalibrate their positions.
Throughout his first time period, Trump’s madman diplomacy was on full show, from threats of “fireplace and fury” towards North Korea to abrupt tariff wars with China. His erratic habits made headlines but additionally compelled international leaders to rethink their methods. Now, as he prepares for a second time period, Trump’s gambits have turn out to be even bolder.
From pushing NATO members to commit 5% of their GDP to protection spending to reigniting debates about Greenland’s autonomy, Trump’s actions are reshaping international alliances. His affect extends past politics—spurring China and India towards a border decision and even pressuring Canada to rethink its commerce insurance policies. His rhetoric, together with calling Canada “America’s 51st state,” performed a task in Justin Trudeau’s shock resignation, marking a turning level in US-Canada relations.
The Triangle of Defiance
What connects Escobar, Petro, and Trump is their shared defiance of established norms. Escobar defied the Colombian and US governments together with his reign of terror, Petro challenged US hegemony by means of political resistance, and Trump continues to rewrite the principles of diplomacy together with his unpredictable type.
For Trump, the madman principle is a calculated danger. By projecting chaos, he extracts short-term features however usually undermines long-term belief. For Petro, the problem lies in balancing Colombia’s sovereignty with the fact of US affect—a wrestle that started lengthy earlier than his presidency, throughout Escobar’s warfare on extradition.
It’s nearly poetic that this inconceivable triangle of figures emerges from Colombia, the birthplace of magic realism. In a land the place the boundaries between actuality and the surreal usually blur, the tales of Trump, Petro, and Escobar really feel oddly becoming. Every represents a novel mix of ambition, defiance, and theatricality—a reminder that, in Colombia, even the strangest tales are grounded in actuality.
