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Colombian President Petro announces he does not recognize the legitimacy of the elected president
Gustavo Petro announced that 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 squares on July 20. Petro alleged that there was vote manipulation involving the Israeli intelligence company Black Cube.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that 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 leveled 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 Espriella's favor." He also claimed that records of citizens who never voted were used, and that these records were replaced either by voters who cast multiple ballots or by votes generated at ballot boxes where no real voters were present.
The Colombian leader also accused the election organizers of fraud. He claimed that in overseas ballot boxes, Espriella was ahead of the ruling party's candidate Ivan Cepeda by 177,000 votes, but that 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 Israel-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 convince Trump to support him.
Referring also to his phone call with US 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 US 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 squares 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 that altered the vote results using records of people who never voted, via a server in Los Angeles?" he asked.
CNE: Espriella Officially Elected President
Colombia's National Electoral Council (CNE), however, officially recognized Abelardo de la Espriella as president-elect. Espriella is expected to take office from Gustavo Petro on August 7.
The 47-year-old Espriella is a lawyer and wealthy businessman known for his closeness to US 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 Ivan Cepeda, the candidate of the ruling left-wing coalition "Historic Pact," remained at 48.70 percent. Espriella had previously pledged to strengthen relations with Israel "like never before."
After the election, which Espriella won by a narrow margin, Petro had demanded a recount of the votes. However, tensions rose after the CNE recognized Espriella as president-elect. It remains to be seen how Petro's call for a square rally on July 20 will be received.
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