Petro Leaves Palace as Colombia's New President Takes Office in Cali

Colombia's outgoing President Gustavo Petro departed the presidential palace on Friday, marking the formal end of his term, even as supporters gathered outside the building to voice their backing. The departure came on the same day that conservative Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as the country's new president.

In a break with tradition, the inauguration ceremony was held in the southwestern city of Cali rather than the capital, Bogotá. The choice of venue was seen as a signal of the new administration's hard-line stance toward illegal armed groups active in that volatile region.

De la Espriella, 48, won a close runoff election on June 21 against Senator Iván Cepeda, an ally of the outgoing president. Petro initially refused to recognize the result, alleging widespread fraud and claiming that tally sheets had been manipulated. Those accusations were dismissed by international observers and Colombian electoral authorities.

Despite the earlier dispute, Petro said as he left the palace that he would respect the popular will. "They said I would stay in this building, and here I am," he told reporters. "I said from the beginning that the popular mandate is respected, and this is where it ends."

Political analyst Sergio Guzmán said Petro is expected to be a "relentless" and "acerbic" opponent from outside government, seeking to consolidate his leadership of the opposition.

Petro has urged social movements in the southwest to organize "people's militias" to defend against what he called "fascists," and has called on supporters to prepare for a general strike if he were to be imprisoned after leaving office. He was named a "priority target" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in March.

At the protests outside the palace, demonstrators carried banners reading "Thank you Petro" and signs rejecting the new president. Susana Muhamad, a former minister in Petro's government, told the crowd: "We are half of the electorate, and as half of the electorate, we stand to defend the Constitution and rights. They won't be able to get past half of the electorate here, neither with their bombs nor with their American soldiers."