Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino made an attempt to tone down the conflict between Buenos Aires and Bogotá on Thursday, saying that Argentina and Colombia had not broken diplomatic relations. 

Mondino’s words came in response to Gustavo Petro’s decision to expel Argentine diplomats from the embassy. Colombia ordered the expulsion after President Javier Milei described Petro as a “terrorist assassin” in a CNN Español interview. 

Regarding Bogotá’s decision, the foreign minister said that she had not received official confirmation. “The internet was down at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday,” Mondino said during an interview with the TN media outlet on Thursday. 

“Officially, I can say that that did not happen.”

Mondino argued that the issue boiled down to one president “not liking” what the other one has to say, but that country relationships are much more important than whatever bond their leaders might have. 

“In no way have relations been severed,” she added.

Despite Mondino’s explanations, she stressed that Milei was not planning to apologize because Petro was indeed a “terrorist.” The Argentine President seemed to confirm this, as he liked a post on X saying that Petro could “sit down and wait” if he expected an apology.

In 1978, Petro joined the M-19 guerrilla movement, which decided to hand in its weapons in 1990. Petro had already moved on from his involvement with the group to become a councilman. He was later elected senator and mayor of Bogotá. He became president of Colombia in August 2022.

Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni also defended Milei. “We are not used to a president telling the truth, saying what he feels, and saying what he thinks,” he said about the presidential remarks in an interview with TN.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) also took aim at Milei, calling him “a conservative fascist.” Milei responded in his interview with CNN, saying that it was “flattering” that an “ignorant” like López Obrador would criticize him. 

Despite the standoff, the Mexican embassy in Argentina denied it would follow the same steps as Colombia after media outlet La Política Online reported that the AMLO administration was considering the move. “The relationship between Mexico and Argentina is solid, based on mutual respect and bilateral cooperation,” they wrote in a post on X.