Colombia’s outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, has repeated allegations that June’s presidential election was rigged, rejecting the legitimacy of his right-wing successor, Abelardo de la Espriella. Colombia’s electoral authorities and international observers have rejected the fraud claims. AdvertisementIn October, Trump called Petro an “illegal drug leader” and announced an end to US payments to Colombia. Weeks later, US prosecutors began a probe into potential links between Petro and drug traffickers in the course of his 2022 presidential campaign. Andres Macias, a professor of political science at Externado University, said the call could “justify the use of weapons by civilians” in areas already impacted by conflicts between the military, drug traffickers and rebel groups.