Opposition leader Ivan Cepeda urged followers to exercise civil disobedience unless President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella does not renounce his US citizenship and ends the persecution of opponents in the US.
At a press conference, Cepeda announced the “civil disobedience against the violation of our national dignity” and called on the 12.7 million Colombians who voted for him to follow his lead.
The leftist opposition leader said that he would “not lend myself to this violation of our sovereignty and will embark on the path of peaceful civil disobedience”
“This implies refusing to recognize the authority of someone who does not answer to the defense of national sovereignty. Let it be very clear: peaceful civil disobedience,” said Cepeda.
I call upon and invite the millions of voters who placed their trust in me to do the same and, if what I demand is not met, to peacefully ignore any order, provision, or mandate from someone who does not fulfill the role of guardian and guarantor of our Political Constitution. As civil disobedience teaches us, when the law, institutions, or authority come into conflict with moral conscience, the citizen has not only the right but the duty to resist peacefully, refusing to collaborate with injustice, opprobrium, or oppression.
Ivan Cepeda
In order to call off the civil disobedience, the opposition leader demanded that De la Espriella renounce his US citizenship and clarified whether or not he is an agent or an asset of US intelligence agencies like the DEA and CIA.
Additionally, Cepeda demanded that the president-elect “cease all persecution against President Gustavo Petro and drop any attempt to extradite him,” and end the persecution of political opponents.
De la Espriella announced on Sunday that he had called on his transition team to send evidence of alleged wrongdoing by the Petro administration to Colombian justice and the US Department of Justice “so that they can determine what their competitive processes are, because there’s an international conspiracy going on there.”
The president-elect has long vowed to extradite his predecessor.
