Colombian election loser threatens civil disobedience if winner does not ditch US citizenship
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 US citizenship.In a statement issued Tuesday, progressive senator Iván Cepeda urged de la Espriella, the winner of June’s presidential runoff, to renounce his US 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 US Drug Enforcement Administration.Cepeda also said that de la Espriella should desist from any efforts to extradite to the US 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 US 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 US 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 US citizenship as an adult after living for several years in...