About Gustavo Petro
In the weeks leading up to the June 2026 presidential runoff election, Gustavo Petro campaigned for his successor, Iván Cepeda, while defending his administration's record. Petro stated that his government had distributed one million hectares through agrarian reform, which he called the largest such reform in the contemporary world, and pointed to a reduction in infant and maternal mortality in La Guajira, where he said infant deaths fell 56.8% from 2022 levels. He also argued that Colombia's class had expanded to 34% of the population and that the country's poverty and hunger rates had fallen. Facing criticism over a reported rise in massacres, Petro said the homicide rate had remained stable and attributed regional violence to the global demand for cocaine and gold from illicit economies, while arguing that his "total peace" policy had reduced political violence.
Petro was also active on the international stage. Speaking at the UN Security Council, which Colombia was presiding over, Petro described artificial intelligence as a "private oligopoly" and criticized what he called a "Nazi juridical criminal idea" of collective guilt against migrants. In an interview with CBS News, he characterized the U.S. endorsement of his far-right opponent as an "interference" in Colombia's sovereignty. In Barcelona, Petro warned of a global "crisis of the climate" driven by concentrated capital and called for a "constitution of the Earth" and a "new renaissance" based on human brotherhood and a global democracy that respects diversity. He also raised the possibility of electoral fraud in Colombia, stating that the firm that oversees vote tabulation was the same institution that appointed registrars, adding that "the people" would decide the outcome, while warning that a defeat of his candidate would represent a defeat of his progressive agenda.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Gustavo Petro's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:01
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is opening up about his country's tense relationship with the United States as he prepares to leave office. In a wide-ranging interview, Petro spoke to CBS News national correspondent Lilia Luciano about his approach to American interference in Colombia's elections.
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Gustavo Petro0:27
And no troops on the ground. The forces of the United States in conjunction fighting in Colombian...
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Meg0:53
Lilia Luciano joins us now from Bogota, Colombia. Lilia, it's great to see you. You also asked the president about increased violence from organized crime groups in Colombia. What did he have to say?
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Lilia Luciano1:09
That's right, Meg. Just to contextualize what we just heard from President Petro, you remember there has been incredible tension between the Petro administration and the Trump administration, primarily because of Petro's approach as a very progressive or far-left president. And also that there is an election coming in two weeks. And the candidate that is running on his side is promising to continue those policies. Those policies include reducing the eradication of coca crops, or reducing the efforts to eradicate coca crops. It includes negotiating with organized crime groups that carry out terrorist attacks. So, I asked him, do you take any responsibility for why people are siding with the right-wing candidate, the far-right candidate, Ayelardo Laspilla, because they're concerned about the violence? Here's what he told me.
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Gustavo Petro1:56
To make the peace, there is always someone who wants to believe.
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Meg2:25
Earlier this week, Lilia...
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Lilia Luciano2:27
So, what President Petro is talking about, he's saying...
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Lilia Luciano2:31
No, no, no, you go ahead.
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Meg2:35
Well, you know, the thing is that Petro is saying that if the right wins, people are voting, the people who voted in the first round of the election, predominantly because they're concerned about security. What he's saying is, if you declare war on these groups, then things are going to get more violent, there's going to be more death. But Colombians are seeing an increase in massacres and in crimes from these organized crime groups. People are fearing and feeling intimidated and threatened. And so, that's what the people on the other side, on the right, are saying, is saying, 'No, because of his negotiations failing, because of these groups being so violent and active, this is why the right is gaining so much momentum ahead of this election.'
Lilia, earlier this week, President Trump endorsed Colombia's far-right candidate for president ahead of the June 21st runoff election. What was Petro's response?
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Lilia Luciano3:26
I asked him specifically about this in the context of the violence of the drug war, of everything else that we discussed, and he said that President Trump, that he considers that President Trump and the US government, by endorsing this candidate, by siding with the right, which he considers the far right here in Colombia, that he considers that to be an intervention, an interference, something that goes against the sovereignty of Colombia. What we have been covering is how under the Petro government, there's been all of this pressure from the Trump administration. If the far-right candidate wins, you can see something like joint attacks or joint bombings of airplanes, of boats, the kinds of policies that the Trump administration has been pushing for. Now, if that right-wing candidate wins, if it's the contrary, we might see more tension.
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Meg4:18
All right, Lilia Luciano, thank you so much.
