Colombia election prompts US and regional partners to demand orderly power transfer

The United States, together with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and several other Latin American and Caribbean states, issued a joint declaration calling on Colombian authorities to act "in strict accordance with the Constitution, the law and democratic principles" and to guarantee an orderly transfer of power after the presidential election.

The runoff left right‑wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella ahead of left‑wing rival Iván Cepeda by roughly one percentage point – about 49.6% to 48.7% of the vote. Outgoing President Gustavo Petro initially rejected the result, alleging fraud, but later announced he would hand over power on 6 August, while still not recognizing the winner. De la Espriella accused Petro’s camp of attempting a coup. The foreign governments condemned baseless claims of irregularities and reaffirmed that only the officially certified vote confers legitimate authority.

The statement stresses that any attempts to delegitimize or block the transition must be rejected, urging all Colombian institutions to respect the certified election outcome.