Petro alleges Israel and US meddling after close Colombia runoff
Colombia’s outgoing president rejected preliminary results showing Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly ahead and called for a judicial investigation.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
4 min read
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has alleged fraud and foreign interference after preliminary results showed his preferred successor narrowly losing the presidential runoff. The dispute matters because the margin was less than 1 percentage point, and Petro’s refusal to accept the count could deepen tensions after one of Colombia’s closest elections.
Preliminary figures released Monday by the National Registry, which administers vote totals, put right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella at 49.66 percent and Senator Iván Cepeda of Petro’s governing Historic Pact at 48.7 percent, according to Al Jazeera and Anadolu. The runoff followed a May 31 first round in which neither candidate won at least 50 percent.
De la Espriella, a 47-year-old criminal lawyer and multimillionaire with US citizenship, is due to take office on August 7 if the result stands, according to the report. He campaigned on tougher security policies and opposition to the left.
Petro points to vote forms and software
Petro, who is barred by Colombia’s constitution from seeking a second term, posted a series of allegations on X on Monday. He claimed the opposition bought votes and said Israel and the United States had interfered to help de la Espriella.
Petro focused on Form E-14, the handwritten tally sheet completed by poll workers at voting stations. According to the report, the form serves as a physical vote-count record, while digital scans are uploaded to the National Registry portal for public review; parties can seek recounts if they find errors.
The president alleged that outside actors accessed the registry’s website and changed voting data on some forms. In one post cited by Al Jazeera and Anadolu, Petro said there was evidence of changes in IP addresses on several registry servers, then claimed the software had been compromised and that Israel was the only state capable of doing it. He did not provide evidence for Israel’s involvement, according to the report.
Petro also said his party had asked before the election for a technical audit of voting software and for authorities to preserve digital traces of transmitted documents. He claimed those requests were ignored.
Company tied to election logistics
Petro said alleged changes to tally forms were made from the offices of the Bautista brothers, according to the report. That was a reference to Fernando and Camilo Bautista Palacio, who run Thomas Greg & Sons, a private logistics and security printing firm that has handled Colombian election infrastructure for more than a decade.
Al Jazeera and Anadolu reported that the company has been contracted by the National Registry for election logistics, preliminary vote counting and vote-tallying software. The Bautista brothers were convicted of bank fraud in the United States in the 1980s, according to the report.
In April, Petro accused the brothers of negotiating with de la Espriella to help him win the presidency in exchange for future passport printing contracts, according to the report. De la Espriella denied the allegation at the time, and his lawyers threatened legal action against Petro.
Officials and foreign leaders respond
Attorney General Gregorio Eljach told reporters there was “no evidence of fraud” with more than 99 percent of votes counted, according to Al Jazeera and Anadolu. De la Espriella had not directly responded to Petro’s latest accusations, the report said.
De la Espriella has voiced support for Israel, campaigned among Colombia’s Jewish community and pledged to restore relations with Israel after Petro cut ties in 2024 over the war in Gaza, according to the report. He has also promised to move Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated de la Espriella on Monday and said he looked forward to strengthening ties between Israel and Colombia. US President Donald Trump, who endorsed de la Espriella on Truth Social before the runoff, also congratulated him and told reporters the candidate had thanked him for the endorsement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that Washington looked forward to working with the incoming administration on regional security, immigration and economic ties. Petro invited Trump to speak about the fraud allegations, saying the US president bore responsibility for supporting a candidate rather than “the freedom of the Colombian people,” according to the report.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.