BOGOTA: Gustavo Petro, the front-runner for Colombia’s May presidential election, secured the nomination of the left-wing Historic Pact coalition on Sunday during voting in primaries.
Centrist Sergio Fajardo and right-winger Federico Gutierrez, both former mayors of Colombia’s second city Medellin, also secured nominations from their respective coalitions.
Petro, a former guerrilla in the M-19 rebel group, and Gutierrez, a civil engineer, both polled well ahead of their coalition rivals.
In the Historic Pact primary, Petro won more than 80 percent — some 3.5 million votes — with around 80 percent of precincts reporting. Gutierrez won more than 54 percent — some 1.7 million ballots — in the primary for a coalition representing a sector of Colombia’s right-wing, with about 80 percent counted.
The contest for the centrist grouping was much closer. Fajardo, a mathematician, won just under 33 percent — or close to 590,000 votes — with 80 percent counted.
Voters also cast ballots for 108 senator and 187 lower house seats.
Colombia’s congress has been split among myriad parties in recent elections, forcing presidents to build big-tent coalitions in order to pass legislation. Complete legislative results are expected on Monday.
Incumbent President Ivan Duque’s right-wing Democratic Center party has already selected Oscar Ivan Zuluaga as its presidential candidate.
Petro lost to Duque — whose term ends in August — in the second round the 2018 presidential election.
Some voters at a polling place in the south of capital city Bogota told Reuters they voted for Petro, also a former senator, in the hopes of seeing job creation.
“I want us to have more work, for it to be easier to get a formal job,” said unemployed Petro backer Alberto Lopez, 31.
Others said an eventual centrist victory could help counteract polarization.
“We cannot continue to be caught between Petro and whoever is chosen by Uribe,” said textile merchant Alicia Chavarro, 46, referring to ex-President Alvaro Uribe, whose influence was key in the elections of Colombia’s last two presidents.
Residents of the 167 municipalities which have been most affected by the country’s long conflict voted to choose 16 representatives who are war victims.
Their seats — in place for two legislative terms — were agreed under a 2016 peace deal between the government and the now-demobilized FARC guerrillas.
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Colombia leftist Petro wins decisive presidential primary victory
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Colombia leftist Petro wins decisive presidential primary victory
- Nearly 39 million of Colombia’s 50 million inhabitants were eligible to cast ballots in a complex but critical election in a country plagued by violence and growing poverty levels
Trump to host Colombia’s Petro just weeks after insulting him as a ‘sick man’ fueling drug trade
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is set to welcome Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the White House on Tuesday for talks only weeks after threatening military action against the South American country and accusing the leader of pumping cocaine into the United States.
US administration officials say the meeting will focus on regional security cooperation and counternarcotics efforts. And Trump on Monday suggested that Petro — who has continued to criticize Trump and the US operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro — seems more willing to work with his administration to stem the flow of illegal drugs from Colombia.
“Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice,” Trump told reporters. “He changed his attitude very much.”
Yet, bad blood between the leaders overshadows the sit-down, even as Trump sought to downplay any friction on the eve of the visit.
The conservative Trump and leftist Petro are ideologically far apart, but both leaders share a tendency for verbal bombast and unpredictability. That sets the stage for a White House visit with an anything-could-happen vibe.
In recent days, Petro has continued poking at the US president, calling Trump an “accomplice to genocide” in the Gaza Strip, while asserting that the capture of Maduro was a kidnapping.
And ahead of his departure for Washington, Petro called on Colombians to take to the streets of Bogotá during the White House meeting.
There’s been a shift in US-Colombia relations
Historically, Colombia has been a US ally. For the past 30 years, the US has worked closely with Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off rebel groups and boost economic development in rural areas.
But relations between the leaders have been strained by Trump’s massing US forces in the region for unprecedented deadly military strikes targeting suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific. At least 126 people have been killed in 36 known strikes.
In October, the Trump administration announced it was imposing sanctions on Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade.
The Treasury Department leveled the penalties against Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.
The sanctions, which had to be waived to allow Petro to travel to Washington this week, came after the US administration in September announced it was adding Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in three decades.
Then came the audacious military operation last month to capture Maduro and his wife to face federal drug conspiracy charges, a move that Petro has forcefully denounced. Following Maduro’s ouster, Trump put Colombia on notice, and ominously warned Petro he could be next.
Colombia is “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said of Petro last month. “And he’s not gonna be doing it very long, let me tell you.”
But a few days later, tensions eased somewhat after a call between the leaders. Trump said Petro in their hourlong conversation explained “the drug situation and other disagreements.” And Trump extended an invitation to Petro for the White House visit.
Trump on a couple of occasions has used the typically scripted leaders’ meetings to deliver stern rebukes to counterparts in front of the press.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February for showing insufficient gratitude for US support of Ukraine. Trump also used a White House meeting in May to forcefully confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa,accusing the country, with reporters present, of failing to address Trump’s baseless claim of the systematic killing of white farmers.
It was not clear that the meeting between Trump and Petro would include a portion in front of cameras.
US administration officials say the meeting will focus on regional security cooperation and counternarcotics efforts. And Trump on Monday suggested that Petro — who has continued to criticize Trump and the US operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro — seems more willing to work with his administration to stem the flow of illegal drugs from Colombia.
“Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice,” Trump told reporters. “He changed his attitude very much.”
Yet, bad blood between the leaders overshadows the sit-down, even as Trump sought to downplay any friction on the eve of the visit.
The conservative Trump and leftist Petro are ideologically far apart, but both leaders share a tendency for verbal bombast and unpredictability. That sets the stage for a White House visit with an anything-could-happen vibe.
In recent days, Petro has continued poking at the US president, calling Trump an “accomplice to genocide” in the Gaza Strip, while asserting that the capture of Maduro was a kidnapping.
And ahead of his departure for Washington, Petro called on Colombians to take to the streets of Bogotá during the White House meeting.
There’s been a shift in US-Colombia relations
Historically, Colombia has been a US ally. For the past 30 years, the US has worked closely with Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off rebel groups and boost economic development in rural areas.
But relations between the leaders have been strained by Trump’s massing US forces in the region for unprecedented deadly military strikes targeting suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific. At least 126 people have been killed in 36 known strikes.
In October, the Trump administration announced it was imposing sanctions on Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade.
The Treasury Department leveled the penalties against Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.
The sanctions, which had to be waived to allow Petro to travel to Washington this week, came after the US administration in September announced it was adding Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in three decades.
Then came the audacious military operation last month to capture Maduro and his wife to face federal drug conspiracy charges, a move that Petro has forcefully denounced. Following Maduro’s ouster, Trump put Colombia on notice, and ominously warned Petro he could be next.
Colombia is “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said of Petro last month. “And he’s not gonna be doing it very long, let me tell you.”
But a few days later, tensions eased somewhat after a call between the leaders. Trump said Petro in their hourlong conversation explained “the drug situation and other disagreements.” And Trump extended an invitation to Petro for the White House visit.
Trump on a couple of occasions has used the typically scripted leaders’ meetings to deliver stern rebukes to counterparts in front of the press.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February for showing insufficient gratitude for US support of Ukraine. Trump also used a White House meeting in May to forcefully confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa,accusing the country, with reporters present, of failing to address Trump’s baseless claim of the systematic killing of white farmers.
It was not clear that the meeting between Trump and Petro would include a portion in front of cameras.
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