I want to thank you for helping my America, my Colombia, achieve freedom,” he said. “You even gave us our flag.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is visiting Haiti as part of a whirlwind trip to strengthen ties with the violence-wracked country.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro looks on as he is welcomed with military honors by Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's Transition Council, upon his arrival for an official visit where they will have a binational council of ministers, in Jacmel, Haiti January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Marckinson Pierre

Francisco de Miranda, considered to be the precursor of Venezuela’s independence, stitched the country’s first flag in Jacmel and set sail from the port city. A decade later, South American liberator Simón Bolívar launched his successful movement from Jacmel’s shores.