A Colombian senator, who recently lost the country’s presidential election, said on Tuesday that he would not recognize his rival, Abelardo de la Espriilla, as the country’s new president if he did not comply with several demands, including renouncing his American citizenship.
In a statement issued Tuesday, he urged progressive Sen. Iván Cepeda de la Espriilla, the winner of the June presidential runoff, to renounce his U.S. citizenship, arguing that retaining it while serving as Colombia’s president could generate a conflict of interest.
The senator also said that de la Espriilla should clarify whether he was an “agent” of the United States, because as a criminal defense lawyer he defended a former paramilitary leader who was an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Cepeda also said de la Espriilla should desist from any efforts to extradite him to outgoing U.S. President Gustavo Petro, whom federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said they are investigating for possible ties to drug traffickers.
“If these conditions of legitimacy are not met, as leader of the opposition, I will embark on the path of peaceful civil disobedience that implies non-recognition of the authority of someone who will not defend our national sovereignty,” Cepeda said.
De la Espriilla, a conservative lawyer who ran on a tough-on-crime platform and was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, won Colombia’s presidential runoff on June 21, defeating Cepeda by 250,000 votes.
Cepeda acknowledged the election results three days later, after Colombian authorities certified the rapid vote count on election day, which showed de la Espriilla receiving 49.6% of the votes while Cepeda received 48.7%.
De la Espriilla did not immediately respond to Cepeda’s accusations or his requests to renounce US citizenship.
The 47-year-old lawyer, who is scheduled to be inaugurated as Colombia’s president on August 7, was born in Bogota.
He obtained US citizenship as an adult after living for several years in Florida, where he ran a law firm representing high-profile clients, including former paramilitary commanders accused of human rights abuses and businessmen accused of money laundering.
Cepeda’s threat not to recognize de la Espriilla as head of state is not expected to have any legal effects because de la Espriilla has already been certified as the winner of the election by the National Electoral Council.
Cepeda’s stance could spark street protests or justify efforts to block de la Esprilla’s agenda in the National Congress, said Manuel Camilo Gonzalez, a political science professor at Javeriana University in Bogotá.
Cepeda’s party, Historic Pact, has the largest number of senators in Colombia, although it is short of the majority needed to block legislation on its own.