The Liberal Party of Colombia is distancing itself from the government of President Gustavo Petro after the national leader was forced to back down in his feud with the U.S. government.
Partido Liberal announced Tuesday the decision to withdraw support for Petro’s government after two years of unsteady alliance with the current coalition, citing reasons such as ineffectual responses to organized crime, allegations of corruption, and the recent diplomatic standoff with the White House.
“The crisis in Catatumbo, tensions in relations with the United States, corruption scandals and lack of governance have put the well-being and security of Colombians at risk,” the communique reads. “These events are a reflection of a worrying institutional breakdown that we cannot ignore.”
Moving forward, Partido Liberal “officially declares independence from the current government” and will stand in political opposition to the president.
The party’s X account published an online version of the statement on social media, and South American media outlets quickly picked it up.
The decision was attributed to the leader of Partido Liberal, former Colombian President César Gaviria.
Though ostensibly a member party of the ruling coalition, Gaviria claims that his party has not had any meaningful role in policymaking or governance and that it has been excluded from high-level decision-making.
Tensions between Partido Liberal and the Petro government have been fraught for years. The Tuesday statement intends to formalize the separation.
“After two years in office, the president has demonstrated his inability to handle Colombia’s challenges,” Gaviria said of his decision, according to a translation from Colombian outlet City Paper Bogota. “In his eagerness to impose his vision, he has disregarded constitutional order, ignored court rulings, disrespected the rule of law, and dismissed fundamental pillars of our democracy.”
Several outlets have questioned whether Gaviria’s declaration will be unanimously adopted by the 13 senators and 33 representatives affiliated with Partido Liberal.
The “crisis in Catatumbo” noted in the party’s statement refers to an outbreak of widespread violence in the northeast region of Colombia, where two criminal organizations have engaged in a turf war.
Petro has deployed soldiers and humanitarian aid to the region in a bid to quell the belligerence that has claimed dozens of lives and displaced tens of thousands of residents. The situation shows few signs of improving with a peace deal earlier this month almost immediately falling apart.
Protestors have set up encampments in Bogota, demanding to meet with Petro concerning the government’s response.
But given the timing of the announcement, the final straw in Gaviria’s decision seems to have been Petro’s aborted stand-off with President Donald Trump over the repatriation of Colombian nationals who entered the U.S. illegally.
Petro turned away two repatriation flights entering Colombia over the weekend on the grounds that passengers were not being treated with dignity and respect.
The move sparked an immediate response from Trump, who accused the “socialist president” of jeopardizing U.S. national security and public safety.
Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods coming into the U.S., institute a travel ban on Colombian nationals, revoke Colombian government officials’ U.S. visas, and tighten sanctions on the South American nation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump warned. “We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!”
Petro promised to swing back at the Trump administration’s proposed economic punishments with his own tariffs and sanctions, but by Sunday night, Colombia agreed to the “unrestricted acceptance” of illegal immigrants deported by the U.S. “without limitation or delay.”
