Colombia: Gustavo Petro bans de la Espriella from being sworn in as president at a military base

Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday barred his successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, from taking office at a military base, as the law stipulates that the ceremony must take place before Congress, which is based in Bogotá.

De la Espriella asked the new Congress, which will convene on July 20, to authorize the inauguration ceremony to take place at a military base, in line with his statements in support of security forces.

"In accordance with my constitutional and legal powers, I order that no military facility be used for the inauguration of a president of the Republic of Colombia," Petro said on X.

The ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 7, and experts and legal scholars believe the logistics of transporting members of Congress to the military compound for the swearing-in would be complicated.

Petro, who claims to have evidence of fraud in the runoff election and is encouraging his supporters to hold a demonstration on July 20, stated that "military barracks and police stations are under my command until the new president is sworn in."

"And therefore, until that moment, I am the supreme commander of the military forces; no officer gives a military salute to a civilian unless that civilian is their supreme commander," he added.

The president noted: "The fact that Abelardo won’t shake my hand is, more or less, a compliment, but I obey the laws of the 1991 Constitution."

He added that "laws are not made in the barracks, but rather actions are taken to ensure the security and defense of the people and their lives," and that "as long as I am president, I will defend the laws and the constitution of a sovereign people."