The fear of an assassination attempt continues to haunt the electoral campaign. This morning, President Gustavo Petro shared on his social media that the United States intelligence agency, the CIA, is aware of a “possible attack” against the left-wing presidential candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda. Just minutes later, the right-wing former president, Álvaro Uribe, denounced on his social media that the ELN guerrilla has a plan to attack his party’s candidate, Senator Paloma Valencia.
Read more The IMF warns Europe about the risk of waste in Iran war relief plans
The electoral alliances and support map continues to take shape. The Cambio Radical party announced that it will allow its members the freedom to support whichever candidacy they prefer between Paloma Valencia’s and Abelardo de la Espriella’s. On Wednesday, the Conservative Party announced it is joining the Uribista campaign. The same decision had been made on Monday by the Party of the U, as well as former Senate candidate María Paz Gaviria from the Liberal Party. Meanwhile, the majority of congress members from the Green Alliance Party have leaned towards supporting the official candidate, Iván Cepeda, with whom they have started talks. As a result, the party’s National Directorate approved the process of splitting the party, the final step of deep internal divisions that are impossible to hide. With this announcement, the political center becomes even more blurred in the electoral landscape, as it has not even managed to gather support around the candidates representing it, Sergio Fajardo and Claudia López, who emerged from within the party.
Former President Álvaro Uribe claims that the ELN guerrilla threatened his candidate, Paloma Valencia
Amid fears of threats, former President Álvaro Uribe claims that his protégé, presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, has received threats from the ELN guerrilla. “The leaders Pablito Arauca and Antonio García are directly responsible for an assassination attempt against Paloma Valencia,” says Uribe. The former president also asserts that within that guerrilla “they give the order to vote for Iván Cepeda to impose him as president in the first round.”
So far, it has not been known that armed groups are actively pressuring for a candidate. The ELN is a sensitive issue for Cepeda, as he was a negotiator in the failed dialogue table with that guerrilla, as well as the architect of the Total Peace policy to negotiate with armed groups.
Cepeda demands authorities provide information about the possible threat against him
The left-wing presidential candidate, Iván Cepeda, responded to President Gustavo Petro’s message on X: the president claims that the CIA knows of a possible plan to kill the candidate. “I will request the authorities to inform me in detail about this circumstance,” he said. “But I also want to be extremely clear and emphatic about this: under no circumstances will I abandon my political work, much less the electoral campaign.” The candidate also stated that he has received threats before during his campaign but has not made them public, “because I do not want to sow alarm or panic in public opinion.”
Iván Cepeda asks that no public servant campaign for him, such as the Deputy Minister of Information Technologies
The left-wing candidate revealed that the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information Technologies is intervening in the electoral campaign, despite it being prohibited in Colombia for officials to engage in politics from their positions. “My campaign has learned that in recent days, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, Andrés López, would have participated in a WhatsApp group to promote my electoral campaign,” says Cepeda, who rejects that kind of support. “I reiterate my position that no public servant should engage in political proselytism, in general, and in the activities of my electoral campaign, in particular,” he adds.
However, the country’s most important official, President Gustavo Petro, has been pointed out by electoral observers for constantly intervening in the electoral campaign, both to make key party decisions and by speaking about right-wing candidates competing against Cepeda.
Gustavo Petro: “The CIA already has real and concrete data about a possible attack on candidate Iván Cepeda”
President Gustavo Petro shared on his social media that the United States intelligence agency, the CIA, has information about “a possible attack on candidate Iván Cepeda.” The president responded to a message from the White House in which Washington said that ‘terrible consequences’ await those who attempt to attack presidential candidates. It was the right-wing candidates, Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de la Espriella, who received death threats last Sunday through their social media. Interior Minister Armando Benedetti expressed his rejection of these threats and announced measures to guarantee the candidates’ security. The president did not mention the threats to Valencia or De La Espriella on his social media and today revealed that it is his party’s candidate, Cepeda, who is threatened by the “far right.” He said, without evidence, that it is the same far right behind the assassination of influencer Charlie Kirk and the attack suffered by Trump when he was a candidate in 2024.
“I thank President Donald Trump for his support for free elections. Remembering the origin of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the one Donald Trump himself received come from the same side: a far right that uses the state to kill to seek votes,” he said
Roy Barreras announces this will be his last electoral campaign
Former senator and presidential candidate of the La Fuerza party, Roy Barreras, has announced that this will be his last political electoral campaign. According to him, this does not mean he will withdraw from the race for the Presidency. “What I have said is that this is the last time: I will never be a candidate for anything again,” he announced through his social media. However, he assured he has a “higher obligation,” which is to try to prevent the country’s division and ensure the next government is one that generates trust and not fear. He added: “If we succeed, this candidacy will go until June 21,” the date of the second presidential round, which Barreras aims to reach, despite unfavorable poll numbers.
Paloma Valencia from the border with Ecuador: “The first call I will make [in my Government] is to President Noboa”
From the international bridge of Rumichaga, which connects Ecuador with Colombia, the Uribista candidate, Paloma Valencia, spoke alongside former president and her mentor, Álvaro Uribe. They are traveling to a community affected by the diplomatic crisis between the presidents of the two countries, Gustavo Petro and Daniel Noboa, which escalated to the point that Ecuador will impose 100% tariffs on Colombia starting May 1; a decision that could end border trade. “It is unacceptable that the Government, when warned that if it does not combat drug trafficking they will impose tariffs, prefers to punish merchants and transporters, and the economy of southern Nariño, rather than combat crime,” said the candidate. Noboa has argued that Petro has not fought illegal groups at the border, and therefore punishes with these new tariffs, which he calls a security fee. But experts warn that the tariffs imposed may instead encourage crime at the border. Although armed groups have strengthened during Petro’s term, the tariffs hurt legal trade at the border.
“I want to make an announcement: on the first day [of my government], we will militarize the Cali-Popayan-Pasto road, so there is no more suffering,” Valencia promised before a crowd if she wins the presidency mid-year. “That same day, the first call I will make is to President Noboa, to say that here there is someone to fight narcoterrorism, and that he immediately removes the tariffs to reactivate trade.” She promised a customs office that speeds up traffic, criticized Petro for promoting trade with Venezuela. “We do not want to be intergalactic leaders, we want to be presidents of Colombia to serve Colombians,” she added.
Above all, she promised to work with the Governor of the border department of Nariño, who is aligned with the Government and has defended Petro’s total peace. Nariño usually votes left or progressive, but the new crisis with Ecuador has been an opportunity for the right competing for votes. In the afternoon, Abelardo de La Espriella will also speak from the department’s capital, Pasto.
Cambio Radical frees its members to join Valencia or De la Espriella
The Cambio Radical party decided, after a meeting of its legislative caucus, to allow its members the freedom to support any of the right-wing presidential candidacies, either Paloma Valencia’s or Abelardo de la Espriella’s. The conservative formation also imposed a veto against supporting the official candidate, Iván Cepeda. Within Cambio Radical, a party where several powerful clans from different regions of the country coincide, there are tendencies with affinities both towards the Uribista candidacy and the far-right lawyer’s. In this way, it separates itself from parties like the Conservative and the Party of the U, which this same week unanimously decided to join Valencia’s campaign, in an attempt to approach the favorable poll numbers that benefit Iván Cepeda, leader in the surveys for months.
The Conservative Party joins Paloma Valencia’s campaign
The Conservative Party announced this Wednesday that it will join the presidential campaign of the Centro Democrático candidate, Paloma Valencia. The party’s president, Efraín Cepeda, explained that the decision was made “unanimously.” “From this moment, the Conservative Party has an official candidate, and from here we express to our members that this decision of the board is law for our members, and we must put ourselves at the service of candidate Paloma Valencia,” said Cepeda. Thus, the Conservative, one of Colombia’s two historic parties, joins the Party of the U, which last Monday adhered to the Uribista campaign, one of the two right-wing aspirations seeking to contest the Presidency against the official candidate, Iván Cepeda, leader in all polls and surveys for several months.
María Paz Gaviria joins Paloma Valencia’s candidacy
The former Senate candidate of the Liberal Party and daughter of former president César Gaviria, María Paz Gaviria, joined the campaign of Paloma Valencia and Juan Daniel Oviedo. A photo circulating on social media showing her hugging the Centro Democrático candidate confirms her support, as well as hints about her party’s decision, which will announce at the end of this month whom it will support in the upcoming elections.
The majority of Green congress members lean towards Iván Cepeda
Political differences within the Green Alliance Party have become irreconcilable. The party’s National Directorate approved, with 32 votes in favor, the request for the party’s split, submitted this Monday by Senator Jonathan Ferney Pulido Hernández, known as Jota Pe Hernández. “I thank you for allowing me to start my political career in this house; I will remain firm serving Colombia,” said the senator, one of the most critical of Gustavo Petro’s government, in a farewell-toned message.
For years, the centrist party had shown signs of wear. Its ranks included senators who became almost opponents of the current administration, such as Katherine Miranda or Catherine Juvinao, along with others who supported most of its initiatives, like Ariel Ávila, Olga Lucía Velásquez, or Liliana Rodríguez. The fissures, which became evident during this legislature, have resurfaced during this presidential campaign, where support is divided. However, the majority of Green congress members lean towards Iván Cepeda.
This Monday, House Representative Jaime Raúl Salamanca Torres announced that the party had decided to form a commission responsible for building a programmatic agreement with the left-wing candidate’s campaign. However, Miranda says she is unaware of the decision. For her, it is more coherent “with the defense of the Constitution and the independence of powers” to support Paloma Valencia and Juan Daniel Oviedo, the right-wing ticket. Paradoxically, neither talks about supporting the centrist candidates, Sergio Fajardo or Claudia López, who emerged from within the party.
“Today the Green Alliance party decided to prohibit, prevent, us from supporting Claudia López and Sergio Fajardo. They have been leaders of the Green Alliance Party. It is an undemocratic decision very aligned and very in tune with President Gustavo Petro’s temperament,” questioned Senator Angélica Lozano after the decision to start negotiating with the official candidate became known. “It is a final and sad closing stage of the party,” she concluded.
The Green Party creates a commission to build an agreement and support Iván Cepeda
Amid the support and alliances being woven in the Colombian presidential race, it has been revealed that the centrist Green Alliance party has decided to form a commission responsible for building a programmatic agreement with the left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda’s campaign. “This agreement implies recognizing the Green Party’s proposals and priorities in the Government program of the Alliance for Life; as well as that the Green Party membership joins the presidential campaign of Cepeda-Quilqué,” states a handwritten text released by the party’s House Representative, Jaime Raúl Salamanca Torres.
However, Salamanca clarifies in a tweet that no official agreement has yet been reached. “Until there is a programmatic agreement with the Alliance for Life coalition, there will be no support for the presidential campaign,” he wrote on X.
Vicky Dávila, former presidential candidate, tries to return to journalism with Semana
Vicky Dávila jumped from journalism to politics ten months ago but now wants to return. She was the director of Semana magazine until last year and decided to run for president in June as an ‘outsider’ candidate, initially seeming to have options to capture the anti-Petro right-wing vote. But another ‘outsider,’ far-right lawyer Abelardo de La Espriella, who now appears as the second favorite in the polls, got in her way. Dávila publicly clashed several times with the lawyer, alleging he had too many shadows in his past—especially as the defender of Nicolás Maduro’s frontman, Alex Saab. She then sought an alliance with right-wing candidates, making clear she would never ally with De La Espriella. Dávila lost the right-wing primary in March and then jumped to support the winner, Uribista Paloma Valencia. The agreement was that the losers would join to support the winner, and some like former minister Mauricio Cárdenas, former mayor Enrique Peñalosa, and former senator David Luna are campaigning accordingly.
Dávila, however, reactivated her YouTube channel, but not to campaign for Paloma Valencia (like other right-wing pre-candidates) but to do interviews again. Last week, she sat down with former president Álvaro Uribe. “You know what itches me is the heart of a journalist,” she told him.
More surprisingly, she then sat down this Sunday with Abelardo de La Espriella in an interview reproduced on Semana’s digital channels. “I want to tell you that I am not representing any political project here today, I am not a spokesperson for any candidate,” she said at the start. Alex Saab appeared tangentially. “Some people believe Abelardo de La Espriella has financed his campaign with Alex Saab’s money.” An accusation the candidate denied: “I haven’t spoken to Alex for seven years.” Past differences regarding the primary also surfaced. “Remember I am no longer a candidate, don’t drag me into those entanglements,” she told him about his decision not to join the primary. “No, I have to drag you in because you were there, the past doesn’t forgive,” he replied.
The Party of the U joins Paloma Valencia’s campaign
The Party of the U announced this Monday its adhesion to Paloma Valencia’s campaign, the presidential candidate of the Uribista Centro Democrático party. According to the party, both its collegiate leadership and its elected and serving congress members have “majority” decided to join Valencia’s aspiration. “This decision responds to our responsibility to Colombians to support an option that guarantees the institutional stability of the State,” said the Party of the U in a brief statement emphasizing the need to strengthen security and the population’s quality of life.
“Don’t expect statements against peace from me”: Cepeda on the party at Itagüí prison
The left-wing presidential candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda, spoke for the first time about the vallenato party reported at the Itagüí prison, Antioquia, which involved leaders of criminal gangs who have dialogued with the Government over the last three years.
“I believe that should be handled by prison authorities, of course,” he told reporters from various media when asked about it. “But don’t expect statements against peace from me.”
The videos of the party were revealed by Claudia Carrasquilla, councilor of the Centro Democrático party, just a week after the National Government announced it was canceling the arrest warrants of spokespersons of the High Impact Criminal Structures (EAOCAI) of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley. After the controversy, the dialogue table with the leaders was temporarily suspended.
Cepeda’s brief words sparked criticism from several politicians, especially other presidential candidates. Through her X account, Paloma Valencia, from Centro Democrático, reproached Cepeda for remaining silent. “[Cepeda] won’t speak ‘against peace.’ But, what peace is he talking about? The same one from which criminals have benefited while the country faces high levels of violence.”
Sergio Fajardo, who had already spoken about Cepeda’s silence on other Total Peace complaints, joined the pressure the left-wing politician is receiving. “Cepeda’s silence is complicit and incoherent,” he wrote on social media, taking the opportunity to reproach him that, although four years ago, with Gustavo Petro’s campaign, both demanded debates, “today, in power, the silence is total.”
De la Espriella and Valencia would beat Cepeda in a second round, according to Atlas Intel
According to the polling firm Atlas Intel, Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia would beat Iván Cepeda in a second round. It is the first time a poll shows this favorable result for the far-right and the Uribista, always trailing the Petro supporter in the most recent polls.
According to the study ordered by Revista Semana, De la Espriella would get 48.8% of the votes in a runoff with Cepeda, who would get 39.8%. Valencia would get 47.1% against 39.6% for Cepeda.
In the first round, Cepeda remains the leader, this time with 38.7%, followed by De la Espriella with 27.9% and Valencia with 23.5%. While the Petro supporter and the Uribista grow, the far-right outsider stagnates compared to other measurements by the same polling firm.
Iván Cepeda calls to open alliances with the ‘political center’ while parties continue debating their support
Before two traditional parties announced they do not consider an alliance with the left-wing candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda, he received support from a Green party senator, Ariel Ávila, and there he made it clear he wants to extend his hand to the country’s political center. “I want to make a call to citizens who feel part of the political center,” he said. “The role of the center’s citizens in today’s world is decisive. It is not about a light center, empty balances, or comfortable neutrality. It is about a center with character, with decision, with the capacity to take a stance, and to position itself unambiguously on the right side of history.”
President of the Chamber criticizes the Party of La U’s position against Iván Cepeda:
The President of the Colombian House of Representatives, Julián López, harshly criticized the leadership of the Party of La U, of which he was a member and from which he resigned in 2025. He criticized the party for deciding not to support Iván Cepeda, despite some of its members being closer to the left-wing project. López, who has had fierce fights with the party’s director, Dilian Francisca Toro, since last year, described the party as “anachronistic, weak, with timid and fearful leadership.” “They decide to play for the presidency with the far right that has impoverished Colombia,” he added.
Abelardo de La Espriella rejects the possibility that the Party of La U supports him
Although the Party of La U expects to decide next week which presidential candidate it will support, the far-right candidate, who has tried to present himself as an outsider not coming from traditional parties, sent them a message. “I make it easy for you: don’t count on me,” he told the party before it made its decision, calling them “the party of Santos, the party that was Petro’s government party.” La U is a party founded by former president Juan Manuel Santos in 2005, and in 2022 declared itself a government party when Gustavo Petro came to power.
The Conservative and La U parties confirm they will not support Iván Cepeda for the presidency
This week several traditional parties are meeting to decide whom they will support for the presidential campaign. The Liberal party spent all Tuesday in meetings, with some pushing towards Uribista Paloma Valencia and others towards the left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda. No decisions were made.
The Conservative and La U parties, however, decided to release statements this Wednesday announcing that, although they do not yet know whom they will support, they already know they do not want to support Cepeda. The Conservatives clarified that they are between Valencia and the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.
ELECTIONS IN COLOMBIA
Sergio Fajardo renews his anti-corruption discourse using dozens of brooms as a symbol for his campaign
The candidate who had emphasized his educational proposal returns to ‘not everything goes’ which became popular in the 2010 presidential campaign alongside Antanas Mockus
ELECTIONS IN COLOMBIA
Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de La Espriella seek María Corina Machado’s support
The Uribista candidate says the opposition leader has already offered her support “to safeguard the elections,” while the far-right candidate seeks to distance himself from his past as Alex Saab’s lawyer
ELECTIONS IN COLOMBIA
Abelardo de La Espriella revives his campaign by accusing Petro of illegal interceptions
The far-right candidate presents himself as a political persecuted after the president mentioned an alleged private conversation of the lawyer to commit electoral fraud
Iván Cepeda meets again with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum
The left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda, met again with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum during a visit he made to the North American country last week. “I thank Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, for the constructive meeting we had at the end of my visit to her country last week. In this second meeting we have had, I was able to express again the recognition and admiration she enjoys in Colombia,” Cepeda said in a post on X.
This is the second meeting between Cepeda and Sheinbaum. The first took place in November, also in Mexico City. The candidate supported by Gustavo Petro has given his campaign international shine in recent months. Besides the Mexican president, he has met with Spaniard Pedro Sánchez and Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Clara López will resign her presidential aspiration to join Iván Cepeda’s campaign
Senator Clara López will resign her presidential candidacy to join Iván Cepeda’s campaign, several media outlets reported this Wednesday. The official announcement is expected next week at an event with the Historic Pact.
The candidate, registered last January 31, made the decision to avoid dividing the left-wing votes in the first round, according to several sources close to the congresswoman to Caracol Radio.
Gradually, Iván Cepeda has gathered support from several of his former rivals. Last week, he received support from Juan Fernando Cristo in his first alliance outside the Pact. It is expected that, besides López, the support of Green senator Ariel Ávila will also be officially announced.
Acxan Duque defends himself against accusations: “What happened was an unintentional sending error, duly documented”
This Friday, through a statement, Duque’s defense insisted that the image was sent by mistake. “The complete chat thread proves both the original destination and the exact moment the erroneous sending occurred and will be made available to the authorities,” his lawyers state. They add: “Mr. Duque Gámez recognized the error immediately. He offered direct apologies to the affected official on the same communication channel before the situation became public. Also, that same morning, on his own initiative, he reported the events to the Ministry of Equality’s Human Talent Office. And he submitted his resignation (…) without waiting to be asked, to avoid compromising the Ministry’s management and not interfere with investigations.”
Medellín court concludes that Iván Cepeda’s discourse was based on Antioquia’s historical reality
Historic Pact candidate Iván Cepeda has announced that the Eighteenth Civil Court of Oral Jurisdiction of Medellín ruled in his favor, considering that his discourse about the history of paramilitarism in Antioquia did not violate fundamental rights to honor, good name, and free development of personality, thus denying the protection requests filed by three citizens. On the contrary, the court concluded that Cepeda’s discourse was based on the department’s historical reality.
According to the court’s decision, “Iván Cepeda Castro’s intention is to raise the resilience and transformation capacity of the inhabitants of Antioquia Department, not to stigmatize them or create a fictitious image of violence, paramilitarism, or drug trafficking.”
Read more Belinda and Los Ángeles Azules release ‘Por Ella’, a cumbia for the World Cup album
