In a message posted on his X account, he emphasized that he would stand with the people on August 7—the day of the presidential inauguration of far-right Abelardo de la Espriella.

  “We do not accept being prevented from exercising our democratic right to political opposition. Our presence at rallies in Barranquilla, Cali, and Bogota will be a peaceful expression of civil disobedience and popular sovereignty,” he stated.

  The congressman insisted that the U.S. citizenship acquired through naturalization in 2023 by the president-elect is an impediment that can only be remedied by renouncing that citizenship, so that he may be recognized as a fully legitimate head of state.

  “The office of Head of State demands exclusive and unequivocal loyalty to the Colombian nation and its sovereignty,” he argued.

  He stated that the events organized by the progressive movement for next Friday would also seek to defend the social transformations implemented by the current government.

  “Listen closely, Mr. Abelardo: national sovereignty, the political legitimacy of public institutions, and social rights ARE NOT TO BE TAMPERED WITH,” Cepeda wrote.

“Neither your authoritarian language, nor your attempts at intimidation, nor the possibility of you decreeing a state of domestic disturbance will lead us to accept, with resignation, any form of Colombia’s submission to the interests of a foreign power.”

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