Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez filed a criminal complaint on Friday, August 1, against President Gustavo Petro, alleging harassment and defamation, in what is rapidly becoming one of the most polarizing chapters in the nation’s recent history. At the center of the complaint is a series of inflammatory posts made on July 28 and 29 from President Petro’s official X account. “In those posts, President Petro made direct, unfounded accusations without judicial backing, attributing to the former President Uribe serious criminal behaviors such as homicides, drug trafficking, paramilitarism, and corruption – acts for which there is no criminal conviction or judicial ruling to support such claims”. “The president (Petro) has launched public accusations using language typical of criminal indictments without a court having ruled in such a manner,” reads a statement from Uribe’s legal team. “Why should we lower our heads to a congressman who insults our judges today?” said Petro at the Santa Marta ceremony.