Bogota.- Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized his US counterpart, Donald Trump, this Tuesday for expressing his “full and complete support” for far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella for the runoff election on June 21st and asked citizens to “vote in full freedom“.
“When one country intervenes in the decisions of another country. Freedom dies. I invite all of Colombia to vote in full freedom and not become slaves or a colony of anyone“, expressed Petro on X.
In that sense, the Colombian president told his American counterpart: “a whole young generation of New Granadians fought alongside (the founding fathers Simón) Bolívar and (Antonio) Nariño to give us Liberty and Sovereignty. If the heart of the world loses its freedom and sovereignty, the hope of the world and of Colombia will be extinguished“.
Trump’s congratulation comes hours after Colombia’s National Registry reported that the scrutiny of the first round coincides by 99.94% with Sunday’s preliminary count, which gave De la Espriella as the most voted candidate, followed by leftist Iván Cepeda, Petro’s candidate.
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The American president described De la Espriella as an “intelligent, strong, and determined” leader who fights for his country and assured that, if he were to reach the Presidency, he would boost economic growth, job creation, trade, the fight against crime and drug trafficking, as well as the restoration of “law and order”.
Trump also highlighted the importance of the runoff for the future of Colombia and for the bilateral relationship with the United States, noting that De la Espriella will face Cepeda, a candidate from what he calls the “radical left“.
Tense relationship
The bilateral relationship between Bogota and Washington has been experiencing tensions since January 2025, when the start of Trump’s second term gave way to a period of sharp differences with the Colombian government.
The first major crisis occurred that month, when Petro refused to receive U.S. military flights with deported Colombian citizens, considering they were being transported in inhumane conditions. In response, Trump threatened to impose tariffs and economic sanctions against Colombia.
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The discrepancies continued in the following months, especially regarding the approach to the anti-drug fight, which led the U.S. administration to withdraw Colombia’s certification as a cooperating country in the fight against drug trafficking and to impose sanctions against Colombian officials, including the head of state himself.
The tension decreased after a call held by Petro and Trump in early January, which led to high-level meetings between officials from both governments and the meeting between both leaders on February 3 at the White House.
