Colombian President: ’Israeli’ Hack Targeted Colombia Vote

By Staff, Agencies

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has stated that the "Israeli" occupation entity interfered in the country’s presidential runoff, saying efforts were made to sway the vote in favor of conservative candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.

Writing on X, Petro said he had warned that the software used by the Bautista brothers' company was vulnerable, citing a 2018 ruling by the Council of State calling for it to be replaced with public software.

Petro said there was evidence of "a change in the IP addresses of several servers belonging to the National Registry Office," adding that the only entity in the world capable of carrying out such an operation is “Israel”.

He stressed that he had requested, in time, an expert audit of the Bautista brothers' software, but the registrar did not allow it.

After preliminary results put Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly ahead of Ivan Cepeda in Colombia’s presidential runoff, Petro called for a “battle for democracy,” demanding a full recount and scrutiny of polling stations and electoral software.

He also urged calm to ensure a thorough count that reflects the public’s will.

Abelardo de la Espriella declared victory at a rally in Barranquilla even as counting continued, saying Colombians had chosen him as their next president.

With 99.99% of polling stations reporting, preliminary results showed him ahead of Ivan Cepeda by 0.96 percentage points, though the tally remains unofficial.

Ivan Cepeda acknowledged the preliminary results but said his campaign would challenge the count during official scrutiny of 33,000 polling stations, calling it the narrowest runoff margin in Colombia’s history.

He also urged dialogue for national unity after a tightly contested election between his left-wing platform and Abelardo de la Espriella’s far-right campaign.

Protests erupted in Cali and Bogota after the result, with demonstrators rejecting de la Espriella’s win and expressing anger over alleged US influence.

Some clashes broke out with riot police as crowds burned U.S. flags, blocked streets, and were dispersed with tear gas. Protesters also accused the campaign of vote-buying and fraud, warning that further demonstrations would follow if they felt their rights were threatened.