Petro asks Trump to cease interfering in Colombian election

Key facts

• Colombian President Gustavo Petro asked Donald Trump to stop interfering in Colombia's presidential election.
• Trump had publicly endorsed opposition candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.
• Petro stated that interference in another country's elections is an attack on freedom.
• A planned meeting between Petro and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was canceled due to an objection from the Trump administration.
• Petro and his associates were sanctioned by the US last year.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called on Donald Trump to cease interfering in his country's presidential election, following Trump's reaffirmation of support for opposition candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Petro stated on X that any interference by one country in another's electoral process is an attempt against freedom and requested that Trump allow Colombians to decide freely.

Trump had previously posted on Truth Social that if conservative attorney Abelardo de la Espriella wins the runoff election on June 21, the Andean nation would receive Washington's "total support." Espriella is competing against communist senator Iván Cepeda, who is aligned with Petro. De la Espriella, who is also a US citizen, expressed gratitude for Trump's endorsement. He emerged as the front-runner after surpassing most polls in the first round of voting.

An AtlasIntel survey released by Semana magazine showed Espriella with 53% of the vote compared to Cepeda's 45%. During his recent trip to New York to chair a UN Security Council debate, Petro's planned meeting with Mayor Zohran Mamdani was reportedly canceled due to an objection from the Trump administration.

Last year, Petro and members of his inner circle faced US sanctions for alleged involvement in facilitating narcotics trafficking. Despite past disagreements, Petro and Trump's relationship had shown improvement following a meeting in Washington in February.