Colombian President Gustavo Petro has launched a vehement condemnation of the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) decision to sanction his 2022 presidential campaign, framing it as a politically motivated assault on democratic institutions. The electoral authority imposed penalties for alleged campaign finance violations, including exceeding spending limits and accepting funds from unauthorized sources.
The sanctions targeted key figures from Petro’s campaign apparatus: manager Ricardo Roa, treasurer Lucy Mogollon, and auditor Maria Soto. Both the Patriotic Union (UP) and Petro’s Colombia Humana party also faced financial penalties from the regulatory body.
In a forceful response delivered through his social media channels, President Petro dismissed the allegations as entirely “fabricated,” asserting that “campaign spending limits never existed” in the manner described by the CNE. He characterized the ruling as an offensive orchestrated by Colombia’s traditional political establishment specifically designed to prevent his coalition, the Historical Pact movement, from obtaining formal legal status as a political party.
The president escalated his rhetoric further, describing the electoral council’s actions as constituting a “violent attack” against both the Colombian Constitution and the American Convention on Human Rights. He turned coup allegations back on his critics, stating: “They were talking about a coup d’etat on my part, but it is corruption that is carrying it out. They want a dictatorship of corruption.”
Adding another layer to the controversy, Petro highlighted during a nationally televised address that one of the CNE judges involved in determining the sanctions simultaneously serves as legal counsel for Federico Gutierrez, the current mayor of Medellín and Petro’s former presidential rival who remains a vocal government opponent. The president maintains this dual role fundamentally compromises the principle of impartial arbitration in electoral matters.