Honduras Supports President Petro in the Face of a Coup Attempt

lOn Wednesday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro expressed her support for Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who warned that his opponents are seeking to remove him from power through a coup.

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"Our total and absolute support for the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, in his international denouncement that a coup d'état is being plotted against the people of Colombia," Castro stated.

Previously, the Colombian president referred to the possibility of a coup against him through false accusations related to alleged contributions cap violations during his 2022 campaign.

On Wednesday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) decided to study a report recommending charges against Gustavo Petro for alleged irregular financing of his election campaign.

The text reads, "Urgent: infiltrated into state institutions, the far right wants to end the Constitution and the popular mandate. There is a coup against President Gustavo Petro with the corrupt complicity of the CNE. Revolution!"

This report was presented by the magistrates Alvaro Prada, a former lesgislator of the right-wing Democratic Center party, and Benjamin Ortiz, a former secretary of the CNE.

Both propose to also bring charges against Ricardo Roa, Petro's political campaign manager in 2022 and current president of the state oil company Ecopetrol.

The Prada-Ortiz report will be discussed by the nine CNE magistrates in a plenary session, where they will decide whether to admit it. Six favorable votes are required for this to happen.

Petro recalled that the Constitution establishes that the Colombian president cannot be judged by an entity other than the House of Representatives' Accusation Committee.

"Why have two entities belonging to an administrative body stated that they are bringing charges against the President? That is deeply unconstitutional and is the beginning of a coup in Colombia," Petro affirmed.

On May 1, the Colombian president also warned that the far-right opposition seeks to remove him from power through a "soft coup," that is, resorting to lawfare or legal persecution.

"If they attempt a coup against the will of the people, as they did on April 19, 1970, the people will take to the streets to defend democracy," he said.