Petro says he does not recognize De la Espriella's victory and calls for demonstrations

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, stated this Monday (6) that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the victory of elected president Abelardo de la Espriella and claimed that the election was marred by fraud.

In the post, Petro stated that he has information about an alleged manipulation of the counting system through algorithms, which, according to him, favored De la Espriella.

The president also alleged that there was irregular voting at electoral tables abroad and in different regions of Colombia.

Without presenting evidence in the publication, Petro stated that an Israeli private intelligence company called BlackCube had participated in the alleged fraud and accused a lobbying company of acting to bring De la Espriella closer to US President Donald Trump.

"The president of Colombia does not recognize the legitimacy of the incoming government. Abelardo did not win the elections," wrote Petro.

The president also called for demonstrations on July 20th, the date of Colombia's Independence.

"The national majorities are called together this July 20th to shout for national independence in all public squares", he stated.

We have all the information about the IP server located in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Bautista brothers, integrated into the polling operation using algorithms that substantially varied the vote in favor of Abelardo,... https://t.co/JK7z8mMFp0

- Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 6, 2026

Colombian elections
Abelardo de la Espriella was confirmed as president-elect of Colombia after the electoral authority completed the verification of the vote count.

The right-wing candidate finished ahead of the left-wing Iván Cepeda by around 250 thousand votes. After confirming the result, De la Espriella stated that his victory represented a defeat for Petro's government.

"We managed to defeat the regime, this is epic and it was only possible with the grace of God", he declared.

47-year-old lawyer and businessman, De la Espriella contested his first presidential election for the Defenders of the Fatherland movement. During the campaign, he defended conservative agendas, promised to toughen the fight against organized crime, strengthen relations with the United States and Israel and presented himself as an outsider in Colombian politics.

(With information from Sebastián Jiménez Valencia, from CNN)

Source: CNN