In a message posted on his Twitter account, he stated that all foreign interference in Colombia’s domestic affairs violates his country’s constitution, following the reiteration of his US counterpart’s support for the far-right candidate, Abelardo De la Espriella.

  “I informed President Donald Trump that the Colombian Constitution prohibits foreign support and money,” Petro wrote on his Twitter account.

  He added in his message that in his nation it is a crime “for foreign money to attempt to manipulate the free opinion of Colombians through large-scale artificial intelligence campaigns, transforming lies into truth, and it is prohibited to finance vote buying.”

  He then argued that if a high-ranking U.S. official, in violation of the Colombian constitution, is interested in acquiring a gold mine in the Colombian department of Cauca, his duty is to defend his country’s sovereignty, its freedom, and the rights and liberties of all its people.

  He stated that whichever candidate wins the presidency “will maintain the friendship of more than two centuries” between the two nations.

  With this message, Petro responds to an earlier statement by Trump in which he reiterated his support for the far-right candidate, De la Espriella, who will face the progressive candidate, Ivan Cepeda, in a runoff election on June 21.

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