Iván Cepeda denounces alleged self-attack plan by rival Abelardo de la Espriella

Colombia's presidential campaign has intensified after left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda of the Pacto Histórico accused his right-wing opponent, Abelardo de la Espriella, of orchestrating a "controlled self-attack." Cepeda claims this alleged plan is designed to alter the voting trend before the election runoff scheduled for June 21.

Cepeda announced via official communication that he has received information suggesting De la Espriella's campaign is fabricating a scenario for a simulated attack on the candidate. This maneuver, he stated, would be executed in the days immediately preceding the vote. Cepeda, representing the governing coalition of President Gustavo Petro, said he would forward the information to the Attorney General's Office for verification. He also plans to notify the National Protection Unit to reinforce security measures for De la Espriella and his vice-presidential running mate, José Manuel Restrepo, to mitigate any potential security vulnerabilities.

De la Espriella quickly responded, attributing Cepeda's accusations to "desperation" in the face of an unfavorable electoral outlook. De la Espriella led in the first round on May 31 with 10.3 million votes (43.78%) compared to Cepeda's 9.7 million (40.98%). De la Espriella also cited recent public opinion polls that reportedly show him with an advantage. He accused Cepeda of resorting to any strategy to avoid debating substantive issues and suggested Cepeda's anxiety was making him lose control.

De la Espriella countered that his own civilian intelligence team possesses similar information, but in the opposite direction, alleging that Cepeda is preparing a self-attack. He stated that out of responsibility, he had refrained from speculating. He also criticized Cepeda's demeanor, contrasting his current state with a previously perceived calm.