Political violence remains an ‘Electoral Tool’ in Colombia: Ex-Petro official

Buenos Aires, Argentina – José Roberto Acosta, a former senior official in President Gustavo Petro’s government and current ambassador to Argentina, assessed Colombia’s next presidential election, in which the first progressive government in the country’s history will be tested this Sunday, May 31.

“Colombia is a protagonist, for better or worse,” said Acosta, describing the country as “the navel of the Americas” because of its strategic geopolitical position.

Acosta served as director of Public Credit under Petro, one of the most sensitive positions inside Colombia’s economic team, before being appointed ambassador in August 2025 as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle. His arrival in Buenos Aires came after a diplomatic crisis triggered by public clashes between Petro and Argentine libertarian president Javier Milei.

In an exclusive interview with Argentina Reports at the Colombian Embassy, Acosta described Colombian politics as a “sancocho,” a traditional Colombian stew, where multiple forms of violence continue to overlap within what he defined as a strong institutional framework.

“In Colombia, assassinations are undoubtedly a political tool,” he added in general terms, so as to abide by internal restrictions discouraging government officials from commenting directly on the race. He referred to the atmosphere surrounding the campaign that revives memories of the intense political violence of the 1990s, notably the attack against senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay.

Acosta described Colombia as a country where “multiple forms of violence coexist simultaneously,” with conflicts tied to “drug trafficking, armed groups, illegal mining and political extremism” overlapping within the electoral environment. At the same time, he argued that Colombia remains “institutionally very strong,” pointing to the country’s 1991 Constitution and the fact that President Petro, who built his political career after being part of the guerrilla movement, reached power through democratic elections.

Asked about the possibility of continuity for Petro’s political movement, Acosta mentioned Senator Iván Cepeda, the chosen candidate to succeed Petro in leading the ruling Historic Pact party.

“The possibility of continuity is enormous,” he said.

With less than a week until Colombia’s presidential election, the latest Invamer poll shows Cepeda leading the first-round field with 44.6% of voting intention. His closest rival, an outsider and right-wing opposition candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, follows at 31.6%, while conservative Senator Paloma Valencia, candidate of the traditional right-wing Uribista movement, sits third at 14.0%.

Regarding the current administration, Acosta also defended Petro’s controversial “Total Peace” strategy despite criticism surrounding the security situation in several regions of the country.

“We are always optimistic about peace,” he said. “The priority continues to be saving lives.”

On drug trafficking, one of the central pillars of Washington’s renewed regional security agenda under Donald Trump, Acosta described the ‘war on drugs’ as “a lost war” requiring international coordination rather than unilateral responses.

“As Colombians, we saw bombs, trucks and buses loaded with explosives erase entire buildings and kill many people,” he said.

Asked about the figure of “narcoterrorism,” which has a regional dimension, he responded: “Anyone may frame it as they find convenient, but in the end the result is the same: we don’t want to see that violence again in our country.”

The Wall Street trader who joined Petro’s government

Acosta’s profile remains unusual within Latin American diplomacy, where outsiders and traders have increasingly joined conservative governments, such as in Javier Milei’s cabinet with Economy Minister Luis Caputo or Pablo Quirno in Foreign Affairs.

Instead, Acosta served under Petro, a figure close to regional progressive leaders such as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Claudia Sheinbaum and Pedro Sánchez.

A lawyer, economist and former stockbroker during Wall Street’s pre-digital era, Acosta also worked as a journalist at El Espectador, participating in investigations linked to the Odebrecht corruption scandal and the oil company Pacific Rubiales.

Throughout the interview, Acosta moved naturally between political theory and market logic, frequently referencing thinkers such as Karl Marx, Michel Foucault and Jurgen Habermas to explain global power dynamics.

“I do not know another left-wing trader or banker in Colombia,” he said jokingly.

Acosta defines himself not as a Marxist but as a “Marx scholar,” arguing that reading the German philosopher helped him understand the difference between “price” and “value,” an idea he later applied in financial markets and public policy.

“While we continue to live under a capitalist structure, whoever controls capital controls many other things: media, networks, narratives,” he said.

Between Petro and Milei

President Petro’s confrontational style on social media has repeatedly generated diplomatic tensions across the region, including disputes with governments in the United States, Ecuador and Bolivia. This “X/Twitter diplomacy,” as some analysts describe it, has become a recurring feature of the foreign policy style of several presidents, including Javier Milei.

In 2025, the Argentinian president publicly referred to Petro as a “terrorist communist” in his social media, leading to the expulsion of Argentine diplomats from Bogotá before bilateral relations were gradually normalized through diplomatic channels.

Despite the ideological distance between both presidents, Acosta described the operational relationship as pragmatic.

“In practice, the relationship works beyond the political rhetoric,” he said.

The ambassador highlighted agreements involving aviation, trade and migration, including expanded air connectivity between both countries and progress in commercial procedures affecting Argentine exports.

“One does not discuss tweets or political tensions in meetings with business sectors,” he said. “The conversation immediately moves toward infrastructure, trade, coffee or export channels.”

Acosta also reaffirmed Colombia’s historical support for Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands and suggested that Colombia could eventually pursue a more active role inside Mercosur.

“I can imagine a meeting between Milei and Petro,” he said. “But I do not think it would be easy.”

Featured image description: Ambassador José Roberto Acosta at the Colombian Embassy in Argentina.

Featured image credit: Cecilia Degl’Innocenti.

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المصدر: Argentina Reports