Sen. Moreno contradicts Petro: CIA has no information on threats against Cepeda, the left-wing candidate, but does on his conservative rivals

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno on Thursday denied Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who claimed that the CIA has concrete information about a possible threat against presidential candidate Iván Cepeda.

"This is false: US officials are aware of no such threat and Mr Cepeda has been informed of such," Moreno wrote in 'X'. "However, we remain very concerned about the threats to the lives of the other two candidates, one of which is a US citizen. As I have noted before, we expect the current Colombian government to take all actions necessary to protect the presidential candidates."

Petro had stated on Friday on that same social network that "the CIA already has the real and concrete data on a possible attack against candidate Iván Cepeda", adding that "information of real plans must be neutralized beforehand." Shortly thereafter, Cepeda himself published a video in which he claimed to have received "precise information on several occasions about attempts on my life" in recent months, although he said he had kept silent so as not to generate alarm.

US is concerned, but about other candidates

Despite Petro's statements, the U.S. is concerned about conservative candidates Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de la Espriella.

On Thursday, Michael Kozak, a senior State Department official for Latin America, appeared before the House Western Hemisphere subcommittee and issued a direct warning in response to a question from Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar.

"Those who are thinking of harming them will face terrible punishment if they so much as try," Kozak said. "Our goal is that no one will get close enough to even try."

The official also noted that the U.S.is cooperating with Colombian authorities, particularly the National Police, to strengthen protection schemes for candidates. "Colombia has had enough years of political violence, it doesn't need to go back to that ever again," Kozak said.

The controversy comes at a time of high political tension in Colombia, just weeks before the May 31 presidential elections. A poll released this month puts Cepeda in the lead in the race, although polls indicate he would lose in a runoff to his conservative rivals. Cepeda is a close ally of Petro, who is ineligible to run for re-election.

The threats against candidates follow the murder of senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a fact that rekindled fears of a return to the darkest episodes of political violence that marked the recent history of the country.