Colombia president-elect alleges coup bid by Petro
Key Takeaways
- President-elect alleged a coup attempt.
- Transition process was suspended.
- Political tensions escalated nationwide.
Abelardo de la Espriella accused outgoing President Gustavo Petro of refusing to accept the election result and attempting to remain in power.
Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has accused outgoing President Gustavo Petro of attempting to remain in office after refusing to recognise the outcome of the presidential election.
In a video address shared on social media on Tuesday, De la Espriella alleged that Petro and Historic Pact candidate Ivan Cepeda were trying to overturn the election result.
"Petro and Cepeda launched their plan B to remain in power no matter what. And they want to do it through a coup d'etat," he warned.
De la Espriella claimed the situation had worsened in recent hours, accusing Petro of exceeding his authority by rejecting the election outcome and declaring Cepeda the winner.
"Cepeda, playing the good cop, is calling for civil disobedience so as not to recognise the votes that, in democracy, in freedom, the Colombian people cast at the ballot box to make me president of all," he added.
The president-elect appealed to Colombia's armed forces to uphold the Constitution and defend the country's democratic institutions. He also urged the international community to remain "watchful, attentive, and supportive of us."
De la Espriella further alleged that Petro and Cepeda were seeking to avoid future investigations.
"Added to this is the fear that both Petro and Cepeda have of the revelations to come, not only regarding all the corruption that ran rampant during these four dark years of government, but also the legal consequences their ties to narcoterrorism will bring, both with criminal groups inside Colombia and with the cartel led by the narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro," he said.
Political tensions increased after Carlos Alonso Lucio, a member of De la Espriella's transition team, said Petro should "be tried" and could face extradition to the United States if requested by US authorities.
De la Espriella later announced the suspension of the presidential transition process with the outgoing administration.
Finance Minister and transition coordinator German Avila subsequently halted transition meetings, saying remarks made by members of the incoming administration had jeopardised the process.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
