Petro Accuses US, Ecuadorian Far-Right Forces of Election Interference

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused former head of state Alvaro Uribe, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, and far-right elements in the United States and Ecuador of attempting to manipulate his country's upcoming election results.

"The recordings from Ecuadorian authorities are clear about the order they've received, according to them, from the State Department, to round up bandits to accuse me," Petro said on X.

"That's what they're doing to try to prove my continued presence on the OFAC list, where they arbitrarily put me. Noboa listens to them and takes orders and receives the opposition led by Uribe, with whom he conspires to interfere in the elections."

The Colombian leader noted that representatives of Colombian far-right factions linked to murders and drug trafficking were feeding false information to the US and Ecuadorian presidents while coordinating actions with foreign partners.

"That's why a general prosecutor of the nation went to Quito to say that a progressive candidate on the verge of winning, Andrés Arauz, had been financed by the ELN, one week before the elections," Petro added, referring to Francisco Barbosa, who served as prosecutor between 2020 and 2024.

"It was a lie, but it made him lose the elections, and he's not even being prosecuted."

Petro says US State Department targeting him for OFAC list

Petro also stated that Ecuadorian authorities had received instructions from the US State Department to identify individuals willing to bring charges against him in order to justify his continued placement on the OFAC sanctions list.

The president said he had approached US President Donald Trump with a request to mediate with Noboa, but the matter was referred to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The first round of Colombia's presidential election is scheduled for May 31. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will take place on June 21.

Petro's accusations come amid heightened regional tensions as several Latin American countries prepare for elections amid shifting geopolitical alignments.

Petro's record on Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon

Amid the Israeli aggressions across West Asia, Petro has consistently stood as one of the world's most vocal heads of state against Israeli aggression.

In June 2025, when the US and "Israel" carried out strikes linked to Iran, Petro warned that such actions could escalate into a wider war, saying they could “set the Middle East on fire.”

In May 2024, he severed diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime entirely over Gaza, calling its government "genocidal". He also banned Colombian coal exports to the entity, a significant measure, as Colombia supplies more than half of "Israel's" coal imports, and opened a diplomatic mission in Ramallah.

In July 2025, he hosted the Hague Group summit, brokering an agreement among 12 countries to halt weapons purchases from Israeli companies and pursue war crimes accountability at the ICJ.

At the UN General Assembly in September 2025, Petro delivered his most forceful speech on the issue, calling on nations to "bring together weapons and armies to defend Palestine."

More recently, he called for international sanctions against "Israel" if it continued to violate ceasefire commitments in Lebanon, warning the stakes involved "the life of humanity."