Gustavo Petro Blames Israel for Hacking Colombia Election

Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Israel of cyber interference in the presidential election, alleging unauthorized server alterations manipulated the voting data. The statement followed preliminary results showing a narrow victory for right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella over leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, signaling a major political shift.

President of Colombia Gustavo Petro spoke after casting his vote during the presidential election on May 31, 2026, in Bogota, Colombia.

The outgoing leader asserted that voting software faced external manipulation and demanded a comprehensive recount. Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Israel of hacking the presidential election, alleging that modifications to official servers permitted foreign entities to distort tally details.

He delivered these assertions after right-wing contender Abelardo De La Espriella secured victory in the weekend presidential race by a slim margin, according to preliminary data, defeating leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda and ending Petro’s progressive agenda.

With almost all ballots processed, De La Espriella captured 49.66% of the vote against 48.70% for Cepeda, the National Registry reported. The 47-year-old attorney and corporate figure, who received backing from US President Donald Trump, ran on pledges to suppress crime, halt peace negotiations with militant groups, and rebuild connections with Israel.

Petro, a consistent challenger of Western foreign policy, has frequently condemned the US for driving global economic disparities and previously characterized Israel’s military operations in Gaza as “genocide.”

In a social media post on Sunday on X, Petro stated he previously flagged security gaps in the voting software built by the Bautista brothers, pointing to a 2018 decree by Colombia’s Council of State, and lobbied for state-owned alternatives subject to neutral review.

Petro asserted that digital forensics revealed modified IP addresses across multiple servers run by Colombia’s National Registry, which he argued confirms a cyber breach where “others entered data for polling stations and voting centers.”

“The only entity in the world with the capacity to do that is the state of Israel,” he stated.

He affirmed plans to present evidence of the compromised infrastructure to judicial authorities while calling for a complete vote recount alongside a formal investigation into system security flaws.

De La Espriella, who advocated for deeper cooperation with Washington, received formal endorsements from Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He promised to restore diplomatic engagement with Israel and establish a Colombian Embassy in Jerusalem, upending Petro’s prior diplomatic freeze.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulated De La Espriella on his “impressive victory” and noted that Israel anticipates expanding its bilateral relationship with Colombia.

The close alignment between De La Espriella and Israel remained visible throughout the political race. During an official meeting with Sa’ar in November, De La Espriella declared that “a strategic alliance with the State of Israel and the US government will not only make us stronger, but will place us on the right side of history.”

Future Outlook

The narrow election results and Petro’s severe allegations of foreign cyber warfare point toward an era of intense political friction in Colombia. Legal challenges regarding the National Registry’s software vulnerabilities could delay the official certification of the vote. If De La Espriella takes office smoothly, Colombia’s geopolitical alignment will pivot drastically back toward Washington and Jerusalem, completely dismantling the left-wing foreign policy established under the Petro administration.

FAQs

Who won the 2026 Colombian presidential election?

Preliminary results from the National Registry show right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella won the election with 49.66% of the vote, narrowly defeating leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, who secured 48.70%.

What specific allegations did Gustavo Petro make?

President Gustavo Petro claimed that election software developed by the Bautista brothers was breached, citing changed IP addresses on National Registry servers. He alleged that the state of Israel was the only global entity capable of executing such an operation to manipulate polling station data.

How will Colombia’s foreign policy change under the new leadership?

President-elect Abelardo De La Espriella has pledged to fundamentally reverse Petro’s foreign policy by restoring severed diplomatic relations with Israel, opening a Colombian Embassy in Jerusalem, and strengthening strategic alliances with the United States government.