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 about to ship a public farewell tackle 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 put up on X on July 6, Petro invited supporters to collect on July 20, Colombia’s Independence Day, for what he has described as a “normal 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 going through lawmakers is anticipated to be de la Espriella’s request to maneuver his inauguration from Congress in Bogota to a navy base in southern Colombia.
The president-elect stated he desires to take the oath of workplace there to “pay a solemn tribute to the heroes of the homeland and to the navy personnel who defend democracy, freedom, and institutional stability”.
Petro has rejected the proposal and ordered on July 12 that “no navy institution” be used for the ceremony.
“Army and police bases stay underneath my command till the brand new president takes the oath of workplace,” he wrote on X, including the principles across the switch of energy “set up that the president takes workplace earlier than Congress in full session”.
In the identical put up, Petro wrote that “Colombia’s nationwide sovereignty has been violated by foreigners who usurped the individuals’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 this planet able to doing that’s the state of Israel,” he stated, with out offering proof. Colombia’s Inspector Basic Gregorio Eljach dismissed the allegations, and worldwide observers stated they discovered no proof of fraud.
Petro has promised a peaceable transition however stated on Tuesday that he is not going to 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 help for South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide on the Worldwide Court docket of Justice.
Petro, who severed ties with Israel in 2024 over its conflict 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.
