LATEST: Petro accuses the US of allying with “drug traffickers” in Colombia after Trump’s support for De la Espriella
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The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
President Gustavo Petro assured this Thursday, June 4, that the “allies” of the “United States Government” in Colombia “come from narco-paramilitary governance.” The Colombian president’s statements take place after Washington and Donald Trump himself expressed broad support for the millionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella. The far-right candidate surprised by being the most voted in the first round on May 31, above the one who was the favorite in the polls, the left-wing candidate supported by Petro, Iván Cepeda. To display this content from X (Twitter), you must allow audience measurement and advertising cookies. Accept Manage my options The 47-year-old lawyer has built his fortune after years of representing figures such as paramilitary drug traffickers, fraudsters and soccer stars. “I regret that figures and governments that want to fight against drug trafficking are helping to precisely lead political power in Colombia to crime,” said the first leftist president in the country’s history. “They are genocidal and drug traffickers,” the Colombian president said this Thursday in an interview with the AFP agency at the Casa de Nariño, headquarters of the Executive, in Bogota. Petro even said he had been “on the verge of being murdered several times” due to the persecution against the left. In the campaign for the June 21 runoff, De la Espriella received the support of the American president, of whom he declares himself an admirer. Petro has been a harsh critic of Trump and has frequently clashed with right-wing governments in the region allied with Washington: among them the Ecuadorian Daniel Noboa, the Argentine Javier Milei, the Chilean José Antonio Kast and the Salvadoran Nayib Bukele. The candidate of Petro’s party accused De la Espriella of representing “mafioso fascism” after the first round. De la Espriella presents himself as a successful businessman who made his fortune through his law firm and other commercial activities such as the sale of liquor. He is also criticized for his sexist and homophobic comments. After Trump’s endorsement, the jurist promised to interact “like never before” with Washington if he is elected president. News in development With AFP
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Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Noticias y actualidad internacional en vivo and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.