US and Shield of the Americas join De la Espriella to denounce Petro-driven transition crisis as undermining Colombian democracy

The United States and twelve countries of the Shield of the Americas issued a joint statement on Friday supporting the legitimacy of the election of the conservative Abelardo De la Espriella as president of Colombia and warn that the crisis unleashed by the outgoing president, the leftist Gustavo Petro, is jeopardizing the country’s democratic institutions.

The statement, released by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Department of State, is signed by the governments of the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.

"We observe with deep concern the recent statements and actions that, without duly substantiated grounds, cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process in the Republic of Colombia and generate uncertainty regarding the normal course of the institutional transition," the text reads, before adding:

"In every constitutional democracy, the sovereign will of the citizens — freely expressed at the ballot box and formalized by the competent electoral authorities — constitutes the sole foundation of the legitimacy of public power. Disregarding the results officially proclaimed by said authorities constitutes a serious disregard for the popular will and for the principles that underpin the Rule of Law. We reject any action, statement, or decision that seeks to delegitimize the mandate conferred by the citizens, to discredit without basis the competent electoral authorities, or to obstruct the institutional transition, known in Colombia as the empalme process. The transition between governments does not constitute a political concession, but rather a constitutional and institutional duty designed to guarantee the continuity of the State, democratic stability, and the effective fulfillment of the popular will.”

The statement comes after several speeches in which Petro announced that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the incoming authorities, asserting that De la Espriella “did not win the election.” The outgoing president denounced alleged “algorithmic electoral fraud,” without presenting a single piece of concrete evidence, and maintained that the true winner is Iván Cepeda, the ruling party’s candidate who was defeated in the June 21 runoff election.

Following those statements, De la Espriella ordered the immediate suspension of the transition process with the outgoing government.

"I have just instructed the vice president-elect of the Republic to immediately suspend the transition process with the corrupt government that is ending its term," the president-elect wrote on X.

De la Espriella had warned days earlier that Petro and Cepeda were, in his words, carrying out a plan to remain in power regardless of the election results. “Petro, assuming powers that belong exclusively to the electoral body, has refused to recognize my election, my credentials as president-elect, and—based on ramblings and fantasies—has said he does not recognize my victory and, on the contrary, has grandly awarded it to Cepeda,” the president-elect denounced on social media.

Vice President-elect José Manuel Restrepo, who is in charge of coordinating the transition, assured that the suspension of the transition process will not halt his team’s work. “We will continue to investigate, gather information, and rigorously document the reality of the country and the challenges the next government will face,” he wrote on X.

The crisis also prompted statements from elsewhere within Colombia. A group of universities participating in the “Cuidar la Democracia” initiative—including Los Andes, El Rosario, Javeriana, and EAFIT—warned that Petro’s conduct “deviates from constitutional and legal norms” and called for respect for the result announced by the National Electoral Council in favor of De la Espriella for the 2026–2030 term.

Colombia’s induction into the Shield of the Americas had been announced by De la Espriella himself, which explains why the country is now receiving a joint statement from its partners amid the dispute over the transition.