Colombia’s 2026 election was one of the most competitive and hotly contested Presidential races in the country’s history. Former president Gustavo Petro says an Israeli cyber intelligence firm, BlackCore ran a bot campaign to influence the result. Election officials and international observers say they have seen no evidence of that.
What Allegations Were Made?
Petro says BlackCore used 500,000 fake social media profiles to spread false information about him and his political ally, Ivan Cepeda before the vote. He has further claimed the vote counting software used by Colombia’s National Registry was hacked, pointing to changes he says were found in the IP addresses of government servers. At one time he said the only actor that could do this kind of interference was the state of israel.
Why It Was Such a Close Race?
The controversy follows a knife edge June 21 runoff in which Abelardo de la Espriella, a US-backed candidate considered the favorite of Israel, defeated Cepeda 49.66% to 48.7%. That’s a surprisingly tight margin for a national election and part of the reason the result was so quickly challenged.
Petro demanded an independent forensic audit, a full recount of the polling stations and judicial oversight of the vote counting process. He cited other irregularities including lawyers being barred from a main counting center and unsigned polling forms.
What Is BlackCore?
BlackCore is reported to be an Israeli cyber intelligence firm. The claims are the latest in a string of allegations against BlackCore, which has been accused by Viginum, France’s disinformation watchdog of using coordinated fake accounts to target pro Palestinian figures and disrupt elections internationally. That report by the French alleged the firm had interfered in elections in France, Scotland, New York, Angola and Togo.
What Officials and Observers Found
Colombia’s National Registry and National Electoral Council issued a joint statement Monday saying vote counting software was secure and denying any unauthorized changes to server IP addresses. The Organization of American States and the European Union’s observer missions also monitored the runoff and said they found no evidence of systemic digital manipulation.
Reports have also said Petro has not provided direct evidence linking BlackCore to the election in Colombia specifically his case is based on the alleged history of the firm elsewhere.
The Larger Perspective
Petro says his claims are supported by some 70,000 volunteer observers and some 1,000 computer experts who analyzed data from polling stations. He has been one of the world’s most outspoken critics of Israel, severing diplomatic ties with the country in 2024 over its actions in Gaza.
That’s not the case anymore. Colombia’s new government has taken steps to normalize ties with Israel, creating a joint economic commission and setting an official visit a reversal of Petro’s 2024 decision.
Where Things Stand
The dispute is still open. While Colombia’s electoral authorities and international observers say the election was not subject to any systemic manipulation, Petro has kept insisting on his allegations about BlackCore and the vote counting software. So far, the bot campaign has not been independently verified and Colombia’s new government is already moving to rebuild ties with Israel, so the allegations are a claim under scrutiny rather than an established fact.
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