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Colombian President Petro announces he does not recognize the legitimacy of the elected president
Gustavo Petro announced he does not recognize the victory of Abelardo de la Espriella, who won the June 21 elections, and called on the people to take to the streets on July 20. Petro alleged there was vote manipulation involving the Israeli intelligence company Black Cube.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he does not recognize the legitimacy of Abelardo de la Espriella, who won the second round of elections on June 21 and is expected to take office on August 7. In a post on his social media account, Petro made serious accusations against Espriella and alleged that vote manipulation took place in the elections.
Petro's Election Fraud Allegations
Petro argued that Espriella did not win the election, saying, "We know that algorithms belonging to the Bautista brothers were integrated into the vote counting system via an IP server in Los Angeles, and the results were significantly altered in favor of Espriella." He also claimed that records of citizens who never voted were used, and these records were replaced either by voters who cast multiple ballots or by votes created at polling stations where no real voters were present.
The Colombian leader also accused the election organizers of fraud. He claimed that in overseas polling stations, Espriella was ahead of the ruling party's candidate Ivan Cepeda by 177,000 votes, but the members of the ballot box committees were people brought from Colombia who did not reside in the US or Spain. He also alleged that some people who went to the World Cup voted seven times using the identities of citizens who did not vote.
Allegation of Israeli Intelligence Company Black Cube
Petro alleged that the Israeli-based private intelligence company Black Cube also played a role in the election interference. "The company that provided the Bautista brothers with the suspicious algorithms and other support is the Israeli private intelligence company Black Cube," Petro said, also claiming that a lobbying group called Balart received millions of dollars to repair Espriella's reputation and persuade Trump to support him.
Referring to his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, Petro said, "In my conversation with Trump, I saw firsthand that he did not know why I do not support Espriella - because of his past filled with drug trafficking and genocide in Colombia. I hope that, despite his busy schedule, he will contact his intelligence services and investigate who Abelardo de la Espriella really is, how he obtained U.S. citizenship, and who his associates are, including the person nicknamed 'Boliche'."
Petro's Call to the People
Petro called on the people to take to the streets on July 20. "The Colombian President does not recognize the legitimacy of the government that should come to power. Abelardo did not win the elections. You did not win these elections. Did your friends at the Israeli intelligence company Black Cube activate algorithms via a server in Los Angeles that altered the vote results using records of people who never voted?" he asked.
CNE: Espriella Officially Elected President
Colombia's National Electoral Council (CNE), however, officially recognized Abelardo de la Espriella as the elected president. Espriella is expected to take over from Gustavo Petro on August 7.
The 47-year-old Espriella is a lawyer and wealthy businessman known for his closeness to U.S. President Donald Trump. In the second round, as the candidate of the right-wing "Defenders of the Homeland" movement, he received 49.66 percent of the vote, while the ruling left-wing coalition "Historic Pact" candidate Ivan Cepeda remained at 48.70 percent. Espriella had previously promised to strengthen relations with Israel "like never before."
After Espriella's narrow election victory, Petro had demanded a recount of the votes. However, tensions rose after the CNE recognized Espriella as the elected president. It is eagerly awaited how Petro's call to the streets on July 20 will be received.
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