The outgoing president has known as for protests as he continues to dispute the outcomes of final month’s election.
Revealed On 20 Jul 2026
Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro is ready to ship a public farewell handle on Monday after calling for nationwide protests, as tensions proceed over final month’s disputed presidential election and the nation’s upcoming switch of energy.
In a publish on X on July 6, Petro invited supporters to collect on July 20, Colombia’s Independence Day, for what he has described as a “basic mobilisation to shout for independence and the continuation of social reforms” earlier than listening to his farewell speech.
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The date additionally marks the opening of the brand new Congress, lower than three weeks earlier than President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella is because of take workplace on August 7.
One of many first points dealing with lawmakers is predicted to be de la Espriella’s request to maneuver his inauguration from Congress in Bogota to a army base in southern Colombia.
The president-elect mentioned he desires to take the oath of workplace there to “pay a solemn tribute to the heroes of the homeland and to the army personnel who shield democracy, freedom, and institutional stability”.
Petro has rejected the proposal and ordered on July 12 that “no army institution” be used for the ceremony.
“Navy and police bases stay underneath my command till the brand new president takes the oath of workplace,” he wrote on X, including the foundations across the switch of energy “set up that the president takes workplace earlier than Congress in full session”.
In the identical publish, Petro wrote that “Colombia’s nationwide sovereignty has been violated by foreigners who usurped the folks’s proper to decide on freely”, echoing his repeated claims that final month’s presidential election was marred by fraud and overseas interference.
The election, which de la Espriella received by lower than one % of the vote, was one of many closest in Colombia’s historical past.
Within the aftermath of the vote, Petro accused Israel of meddling within the election, alleging that foreign actors had accessed the web site of Colombia’s Nationwide Registry to govern polling information.
“The one entity on the planet able to doing that’s the state of Israel,” he mentioned, with out offering proof. Colombia’s Inspector Common Gregorio Eljach dismissed the allegations, and worldwide observers mentioned they discovered no proof of fraud.
Petro has promised a peaceable transition however mentioned on Tuesday that he won’t attend the inauguration on August 7.
De la Espriella, a right-wing lawyer backed by US President Donald Trump and a vocal supporter of Israel, has responded by accusing Petro, with out offering proof, of plotting a “coup” to cease him from taking workplace.
De la Espriella has pledged to restore diplomatic ties with Israel, saying plans on Thursday to open a Colombian embassy in Jerusalem and withdraw Colombia’s assist for South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide on the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice.
Petro, who severed ties with Israel in 2024 over its struggle on Gaza, responded by calling his successor an “confederate to genocide”.
De la Espriella has additionally criticised Petro’s requires civil disobedience, describing them as “nothing greater than … city terrorism” and vowing there could be “no leniency” for anybody searching for to problem Colombia’s constitutional order.
