Colombian President Gustavo Petro is accusing former President Donald Trump of interfering in his country's presidential runoff election. In an interview with CBS News, Petro criticized Trump's 'Complete and Total Endorsement' of far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who finished first in the first round with 43.7% of the vote, followed by leftist Iván Cepeda at 40.9%.
Petro argued that the U.S. is siding with narco-paramilitarism and abandoning anti-drug cooperation for ideological reasons. He warned that if the right comes to power, Colombia will see a wave of political violence. Despite being personally sanctioned by the Trump administration and having his U.S. visa revoked, Petro hopes to maintain amicable ties with Washington.
On the issue of coca cultivation, Petro defended his shift from forced eradication to voluntary crop substitution, which has led to a 90% reduction in eradication efforts. Critics, like professor Daniel Mejía, question the government's data and note that budget execution for alternative development programs has been as low as 8%.
The runoff election between De la Espriella and Cepeda is scheduled for later this month. De la Espriella has promised to resume aerial fumigation of coca fields and adopt a security doctrine similar to El Salvador's President Bukele.