Colombian President Accuses Israel of Election Interference; Prosecutor's Office Rejects Claim

Colombia's outgoing leftist president, Gustavo Petro, has alleged electoral fraud after preliminary results from the second round of the presidential election showed his chosen candidate narrowly losing.

In a series of posts on social media platform X on Monday, Petro accused the opposition of vote-buying and claimed Israel and the United States intervened to help far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella secure victory. He refused to acknowledge the results and called for a judicial investigation.

Petro, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, was Colombia's first leftist president, putting him at odds with the U.S. His administration was praised for reforms promoting social spending, raising the minimum wage, and redistributing land to poorer families. He also severed relations with Israel over the war in Gaza and distanced himself from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

However, critics argue that his refusal to accept the election results risks escalating political tension and violence.

What were the election results?

The first round of the presidential election was held on May 31. None of the two front-runners—Abelardo de la Espriella of the far-right Defenders of the Homeland movement and Senator Ivan Cepeda of the ruling Historical Alliance—secured at least 50% of the vote, leading to a second round on Sunday.

According to preliminary results released by the National Registry on Monday, de la Espriella won by a razor-thin margin of 49.66% to 48.7% for Cepeda. The gap of less than 1% makes it one of Colombia's closest elections.

De la Espriella, 47, backed by Trump, is set to take office on August 7. The criminal lawyer and millionaire campaigned on hardline security policies and anti-left rhetoric. He also holds U.S. citizenship.

His victory is part of a recent trend in Latin America of electing far-right, populist, pro-Trump leaders. Argentina's Javier Milei, Honduras's Nasry 'Tito' Asfura, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, and Costa Rica's Laura Fernandez Delgado all have close ties to the Trump administration.

Why did Petro allege fraud?

Petro took to X to post a series of allegations about voter fraud with the help of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He claimed there was evidence of tampering with Form E-14, the official handwritten tally sheet filled out by poll workers at each voting station.

The form is a physical record of the vote count designed to prevent fraud. It is filled out by hand, and a digital scan is also uploaded to the National Registry's website for public scrutiny. If errors are found, parties can request a recount.

Petro accused foreign agents of accessing the National Registry's website and rewriting voting data on some Form E-14s. "Today we have evidence of a change in the IP address of some servers of the National Registry," he wrote, adding that "the only entity in the world capable of doing that is the state of Israel," but he provided no evidence.

Petro said his party had requested a 'technical audit' of the voting software before the election and proposed that the government collect digital fingerprints of all digitally transmitted documents to prevent tampering, but those requests were ignored.

Who are the Bautista brothers?

Petro alluded to Thomas Greg & Sons, a private logistics and security printing company with significant influence that runs Colombia's election infrastructure. The company is run by brothers Fernando and Camilo Bautista Palacio. The duo were convicted of bank fraud in the United States in the 1980s.

Thomas Greg & Sons, founded by their father Gregorio, has been contracted by the National Registry for over a decade to manage election logistics, preliminary counts, and vote tabulation software.

In April, Petro accused the Bautista brothers of negotiating a deal with de la Espriella to ensure the far-right candidate's victory in exchange for regaining the passport printing contract. At the time, de la Espriella denied the allegations, and his lawyer threatened to sue Petro.

What do authorities say?

Attorney General Gregorio Eljach dismissed the allegations, telling reporters that "there is no evidence of fraud" with over 99% of the votes counted. De la Espriella has so far not directly responded to Petro.

Does de la Espriella have ties to Israel?

Yes. De la Espriella has consistently expressed support for Israel and campaigned among Colombia's Jewish community, making pro-Israel pledges and saying his government would 'defend Judeo-Christian principles.' He promised to reverse Petro's 2024 decision to sever relations with Israel and vowed to move Colombia's embassy to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu congratulated de la Espriella on Monday, saying: 'I look forward to working with you to strengthen relations between Israel and Colombia.'

How has the U.S. reacted?

In his posts, Petro also blamed Trump for interfering in the election by publicly endorsing a candidate, thereby swaying voters. Trump endorsed de la Espriella on his Truth Social platform a few weeks before the second round.

Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated de la Espriella on his preliminary victory, and Trump took credit for the far-right candidate's win. 'He was in 10th place. I endorsed him, and he won. He called me last night and thanked me for my support,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

Rubio wrote on X: 'The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with the incoming administration to promote regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration into the United States, and strengthen our economic ties.'

Petro invited Trump to speak on the fraud allegations. 'I formally invite President Donald Trump to speak,' Petro wrote, adding that the U.S. president was responsible for 'endorsing a candidate, not the freedom of the Colombian people.'

What is the state of U.S.-Colombia relations?

Although the two countries have strong trade ties, diplomatic relations have often been strained over anti-drug policies, relations with Israel, and other issues. Relations have essentially collapsed under the Trump and Petro administrations.

In January last year, Petro refused to allow U.S. deportation flights carrying migrants to land in Colombia. In October, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Petro, his family, and key officials in his government based on unproven allegations of involvement in drug trafficking. In January this year, U.S. forces abducted socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his home in Caracas after the Trump administration accused him of 'narco-terrorism.'