Petro does not like Trump’s political endorsement!
Petro
Bogota, June 5 (EFE).-
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday again criticized US President Donald Trump for endorsing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, arguing that the move amounted to interference in Colombia’s electoral process.
Speaking at a public event in the Caribbean department of Córdoba, Petro also questioned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying Washington’s position on the fight against drug trafficking appeared contradictory.
“I don’t understand Donald Trump or Mr. Rubio. They need to make up their minds. Either we fight drug trafficking, or you will bring drug traffickers into the White House to make laws about the people of Latin America with those same drug traffickers, and I won’t accept that,” Petro said.
The Colombian president also challenged the possibility of new US sanctions against him.
“They can put me on the OFAC list 10,000 times, and if they want to throw me in prison, let them try. But I won’t lower my voice,” he said.
Petro further argued that politicians who align themselves too closely with Washington tolerate the mistreatment of Latin American migrants in the United States.
“I don’t understand those Colombians who vote for those who kneel in Miami and allow Colombians—men and women—to be chained up and treated like dogs,” he said.
Petro’s remarks come amid controversy over Trump’s endorsement earlier this week of De la Espriella, who won the first round of Colombia’s presidential election with 10.3 million votes, or 43.74 percent of the total.
De la Espriella is set to face left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda in the June 21 runoff after Cepeda secured 9.7 million votes, or 40.90 percent.
Petro had already condemned Trump’s endorsement on Tuesday, saying it constituted interference in Colombia’s internal affairs and warning that “when one country interferes in the decisions of another, freedom dies.”
In a statement on Friday, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern over any form of external support, pressure or intervention aimed at influencing the electoral process and stressed that decisions regarding the country’s political future belong exclusively to the Colombian people. EFE
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