Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro Accuses Israel of Hacking the Presidential Elections
Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Israel of hacking the country's National Registry software to rig the June 2026 presidential runoff election. Following a highly contested election where right-wing, Trump-backed candidate Abelardo de la Espriella emerged with a narrow lead over leftist candidate Iván Cepeda, Petro declared that he would not recognize the preliminary results without a full forensic audit.
The Core Allegations
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-900089
Even before diplomatic relations were severed, they were highly strained between Columbia and Israel. Petro repeatedly compared Israel's military operations in Gaza to the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, leading the Colombian foreign minister to demand an apology and the departure of the Israeli ambassador. In late 2023, Colombia recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over the ongoing conflict. After Petro refused to condemn Hamas's terrorist attack on October 2023, Israel halted security and defense exports to Colombia. Colombia officially severed its diplomatic relations with Israel on May 2, 2024.
The Core Allegations
- Compromised IP Addresses: Petro posted on social media that he obtained evidence showing unauthorized changes to the IP addresses of several National Registry servers.
- Data Manipulation: He claimed these altered IP addresses allowed external actors to manually enter fraudulent data for multiple polling stations and voting centers.
- Blame Placed on Israel: Petro explicitly stated, "The only entity in the world capable of doing that is the State of Israel," though he did not provide immediate public evidence linking Israel to the alleged server changes.
- Previous Clashes: The accusation follows a period of highly strained relations between Petro and Israel, which included Petro severing diplomatic ties over the war in Gaza and facing international backlash for controversial social media posts.
- The Winner's Stance: The apparent winner, Abelardo de la Espriella, ran a campaign that promised to immediately restore diplomatic relations with Israel and relocate Colombia's embassy to Jerusalem. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has already publicly congratulated de la Espriella on his victory.
- Independent Oversight: While Petro has urged citizens to remain calm and demanded that judges handle a comprehensive recount, international observers—including the European Union's electoral mission during the first round of voting—had previously rejected Petro's earlier warnings of systemic fraud, finding no inconsistencies in the country's tally sheets. Under Colombian law, final election verification rests with the judiciary, not the sitting president.
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-900089
Even before diplomatic relations were severed, they were highly strained between Columbia and Israel. Petro repeatedly compared Israel's military operations in Gaza to the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, leading the Colombian foreign minister to demand an apology and the departure of the Israeli ambassador. In late 2023, Colombia recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over the ongoing conflict. After Petro refused to condemn Hamas's terrorist attack on October 2023, Israel halted security and defense exports to Colombia. Colombia officially severed its diplomatic relations with Israel on May 2, 2024.
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