Colombian election loser threatens 'civil disobedience' if winner does not ditch US citizenship

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian senator, who recently lost the nation’s presidential election, said Tuesday he will not recognize his opponent, Abelardo de la Espriella, as the nation’s new head of state, if he does not comply with several demands, including renouncing his U.S. citizenship.

In a statement issued Tuesday, progressive senator Iván Cepeda urged de la Espriella, the winner of June’s presidential runoff, to renounce his U.S. citizenship, arguing that holding it while being Colombia’s president could generate conflicts of interest.

The senator also said that de la Espriella should clarify whether he is an “agent” of the United States, because as a criminal defense lawyer he defended a former paramilitary leader who was an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Cepeda also said that de la Espriella should desist from any efforts to extradite to the U.S. outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have said they are investigating for potential ties to drug traffickers.

“If these conditions of legality are not met, as the leader of the opposition, I will embark on the path of peaceful civil disobedience that implies not recognizing the authority of someone who will not defend our national sovereignty,” Cepeda said.

De la Espriella, a conservative lawyer who ran on a tough-on-crime platform and was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, won Colombia’s presidential runoff on June 21, defeating Cepeda by 250,000 votes.

Cepeda acknowledged the results of the elections three days later, after Colombian authorities validated an election-day quick vote count, which showed de la Espriella had obtained 49.6% of the votes while Cepeda got 48.7%.

De la Espriella did not immediately respond to Cepeda’s accusations, or requests for him to renounce U.S. citizenship.

The 47-year-old lawyer, who is set to be inaugurated as Colombia’s president on Aug. 7, was born in Bogota. He obtained U.S. citizenship as an adult after living for several years in Florida, where he ran a law firm that represented high-profile clients, including former paramilitary leaders accused of human rights abuses and businessmen charged with money laundering.

Cepeda’s threat of not recognizing de la Espriella as head of state is not expected to have any legal implications because de la Espriella has already been certified as the election’s winner by the National Electoral Council.

Manuel Camilo González, a political science professor at Bogota’s Javeriana University, said that Cepeda’s stance, however, could spark street protests or justify efforts to block de la Espriella’s agenda in the nation’s Congress.

Cepeda’s party, the Historical Pact, has the most senators in Colombia, although it is short of the majority required to block legislation on its own.

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