Outgoing Colombian President Alleges Israel Meddled in Presidential Election [View all]
Source: Haaretz
Colombia's outgoing president accused Israel of meddling in the country's presidential election after his preferred successor was defeated by a far-right candidate backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and widely praised by ministers in Netanyahu's government.
An initial ballot count of the second round of votes found that Abelardo de la Espriella has clinched a narrow victory in Sunday's election, winning some 49.66 percent of the vote while his rival, Ivan Cepeda, trailed by roughly 250,000 votes. De la Espriella's victory marks a shift back to the right after four years under Colombia's first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a second term and backed Cepeda as his preferred successor.
Posting on X overnight into Monday, Petro alleged that "foreign interference" had been at play, tipping the scales in de la Espriella's favor. "Neither [candidate] can be proclaimed president. It is the scrutiny that determines who is the president," he wrote in Spanish in the post.
Petro cast doubt over the results published by Colombia's National Civil Registry, the independent body that oversees the country's elections, and suggested Israel was responsible.
Read more: https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2026-06-22/ty-article/.premium/outgoing-colombian-president-alleges-israel-meddled-in-presidential-election/0000019e-ee65-d514-a9bf-fe7f5b1e0000
Here we go again.
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