The leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda called US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his far-right rival, Abelardo de la Espriella, as “somewhat interventionist” and urged respect for Colombia’s sovereignty.
In a press statement, Cepeda accused his opponent of taking “unpatriotic actions aimed at having foreign governments intervene to determine the outcome of our election.”
De la Espriella wants to import models from the United States that will undermine our sovereignty, such as his threats to replace or restore the Colombian justice system with U.S. judicial procedures. We therefore clearly warn that Mr. De la Espriella poses a serious risk to democracy. We add that he poses a serious risk to the sovereignty and integrity of the Colombian people and nation.”
Ivan Cepeda
Trump’s comments have evoked an avalanche of criticism from center and center-left politicians who ran against Cepeda in the first round.
Former President Ernesto Samper denounced Trump’s endorsement of De la Espriella’s “immoral candidacy” as “a crude and unacceptable interference in the internal affairs” of the country.
“This aggressive meddling in Colombian democracy, which has already been repeated in several Latin American countries, must be rejected by all Colombians in the upcoming elections by voting to defend our sovereignty under the leadership of Iván Cepeda and his clean, nationalist record,” Samper wrote in a post on his social media accounts.
The former liberal president is now a member of the Alliance for Life, the electoral coalition backing Cepeda in the June 21 runoff.
Trump has broken with a longstanding tradition of US presidents not endorsing candidates in the elections of other countries, particularly in Latin America.
He backed Honduras’ President Nasry “Tito” Asfura last year, has shown frequent support for Argentine President Javier Milei and endorsed his party during mid-term elections last year.
Trump also strongly backed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in his election bid against Lula in 2022.
De la Espriella brushed off criticisms and on Wednesday seemed to encourage U.S billionaire Elon Musk to weigh in as well in a pitch to involve one his companies in Colombia.
In a message to Musk on the billionaire’s social media platform X, De la Espriella announced his plan to use starlink in rural areas in Colombia, stating that Musk “has been a global leader in the fight against poverty by connecting people online in every corner of the world; the 21st century cannot begin without internet access for all Colombians.”
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