Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned on Monday of the existence of "tens of tons of explosives" in Cali, the city where president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella is due to be sworn in on Friday.
Petro said drug trafficking groups wanted to carry out a terrorist act to provide a pretext for declaring a state of internal commotion, according to a lengthy message he posted on X. He gave no further details.
Internal commotion is a mechanism set out in Colombia's constitution that allows the government to issue decrees to address a serious disturbance of public order for a maximum of 90 days.
Security operation in Cali
More than 11,000 members of Colombia's Military Forces and Police have been assigned to secure De la Espriella's inauguration and prevent any violent incident in Cali. The city sits in Valle del Cauca department in southwestern Colombia, a region heavily affected by the country's armed conflict, mainly through the actions of dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla group.
Petro does not recognise De la Espriella's election victory but is set to hand over power on August 7. He also addressed opposition-organised demonstrations planned for that day in Cali, Barranquilla and Bogota, saying that, based on the information available to him, the gatherings in all three cities should be very peaceful. Petro said he intends to mount tough opposition to De la Espriella once he leaves office and takes a vacation.
Petro's combative tone
As the transfer of power approaches, Petro has sharpened the tone of his social media posts and criticised announcements made by the president-elect, saying he fears De la Espriella could repeal social reform laws by surprise decree.
In a separate message posted the same day, Petro called for the creation of what he termed "liberating guards," describing them as forms of popular militia that would act in coordination with the National Army wherever the army decided to fulfil its constitutional duty to defend the people. He said these groups would answer only to orders from their community in assembly, which would decide whether members should arm themselves depending on the scale of any aggression they faced.
Inauguration guest list
De la Espriella will be sworn in as president on August 7 at the Arena USC, a venue belonging to the Universidad Santiago de Cali, rather than at the traditional Salon Eliptico of the National Capitol. No member of Petro's party, the Pacto Historico, plans to attend.
Confirmed guests include King Felipe VI of Spain and the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; Paraguay, Santiago Pena; Costa Rica, Laura Fernandez; Panama, Jose Raul Mulino; the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Chile, Jose Antonio Kast; and Honduras, Nasry Asfura.
Also expected in Cali are the vice presidents of El Salvador, Felix Ulloa, and Guatemala, Karin Herrera, along with the prime minister of Curacao, Gilmar Pisa, and the foreign ministers of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, and Israel, Gideon Sa'ar, among other officials.
