El presidente de Colombia Gustavo Petro, quien termina su mandato este viernes y dejará el lugar al populista de derecha Abelardo De la Espriella, instó el lunes a los movimientos sociales a organizar una “milicia popular” para defenderse de eventuales agresiones de lo que denominó el “fascio narcotraficante”, luego de ataques contra un líder indígena y un político de su partido el fin de semana.

“Le solicito al movimiento indígena, campesino, popular y estudiantil del Cauca (suroeste) organizar las guardias libertadoras para contrarrestar a los asesinos organizados con la fuerza de la red y el poder popular”, afirmó el mandatario en la red social X.

Petro, quien militó en su juventud en la extinta guerrilla M-19, considera las “guardias libertadoras” como formas de “milicia popular que deben actuar en coordinación con el ejército nacional” en los lugares donde las “mafias” busquen dominar a los militares, a quienes instó a desobedecer si les ordenan “asesinar al pueblo”.

Andrés Macías, investigador de conflicto y temas de paz de la Universidad Externado, explicó a The Associated Press que las declaraciones de Petro resultan delicadas porque “introducen la posibilidad de legitimar el uso de las armas por parte de actores civiles en un contexto donde Colombia ya enfrenta una alta fragmentación de la violencia” por parte de grupos armados ilegales.

En regiones como Cauca, donde las comunidades padecen la presencia de actores armados, Macías advierte que se podría aumentar la desconfianza en las instituciones y dificultar la “diferenciación entre organizaciones comunitarias legítimas y estructuras armadas ilegales”.

Petro aseguró a la prensa que tienen “información de decenas de toneladas de explosivos en Cali, Valle del Cauca y otros lugares” que se trata de neutralizar, sin indicar si podrían ser usadas en el marco de la posesión presidencial.

En los últimos días de su gobierno Petro ha insistido en que su sucesor, el abogado y empresario de derecha Abelardo de la Espriella, representa la llegada del “fascismo” a Colombia.

Petro insistió el lunes en un presunto fraude “algorítmico sistemático” en las elecciones presidenciales, desconociendo la victoria de De la Espriella, basado en “70.000 testigos digitales”, como llamó a ciudadanos voluntarios que revisaron las actas de votación.

“Se me exige para no ponerme en una cárcel, que la quieren aquí o en el extranjero, que me porte bien, pero, ¿cómo un demócrata puede aceptar el fraude electoral?”, afirmó Petro, quien sostuvo que teme que lo “extraigan” en aparente referencia a lo ocurrido en Venezuela en enero cuando Estados Unidos capturó al mandatario Nicolás Maduro.

De la Espriella, respaldado por el presidente Donald Trump, se posesionará el 7 de agosto en Cali, la principal ciudad del suroeste del país, para enviar un mensaje a los grupos armados ilegales que operan en esa zona y a los que promete combatir con mano dura.

Petro instó a los movimientos sociales a reunirse el 7 de agosto en Cali para “organizar las guardias libertadoras y las formas de la resistencia”. Se espera que en el marco de la posesión presidencial se registren manifestaciones de sectores opositores a De la Espriella.

“Las guardias libertadoras sólo obedecen órdenes de su comunidad en asamblea, es la comunidad la que decide si deben armarse o no, de acuerdo a la magnitud de la agresión”, aseguró Petro.

El ex militar y representante por el Partido Conservador Guillermo Blanco, advirtió en X que lo propuesto por Petro “choca con el orden constitucional y sólo alimenta el riesgo de fortalecer estructuras armadas paralelas”.

De la Espriella enfrentó críticas en campaña por declararse enemigo de los “señores de la izquierda” a quienes había que “destriparlos”. Luego matizó su discurso diciendo que se refería a una confrontación ideológica en el “marco de la ley”.

Petro enmarcó en un supuesto plan de exterminio de su corriente política el ataque contra el líder indígena Julián Mauricio Gutiérrez, quien falleció por la gravedad de las heridas, perpetrado el sábado en Florida, municipio aledaño a Cali; así como el ataque con disparos el domingo contra el diputado Yesid Sandoval del oficialista Pacto Histórico, del que salió ileso.

Brazilian lawmakers preparing to conduct official business found themselves sharing the halls of a state legislature with several uninvited — but unusually relaxed — guests.

A group of capybaras entered the Mato Grosso Legislative Assembly in Cuiabá on July 30, briefly drawing attention away from an upcoming vote as they explored the government building.

Video recorded by legislative staffer Nayara Bueno showed the animals moving calmly through the entrance while workers sought to steer them outside.

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«They show up here quite often, so we’ve gotten used to seeing them,» Bueno told The Associated Press.

The rodents’ guest appearance did not cause any damage to the Mato Grosso state legislature, according to officials.

The animals appeared calm as they wandered through the front door of the local legislative building in Cuiaba. (UGC via AP)

The legislature borders a park that is home to wildlife, giving the animals easy access to the surrounding government complex. 

Native to South America, capybaras are semiaquatic mammals commonly found around wetlands and other bodies of water. They are highly social, generally travel in groups and can reach weights of about 175 pounds.

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The legislative building is located near a park filled with wildlife, where the capybaras had wandered away from. (UGC via AP)

The world’s largest living rodents have also become internet favorites, with social media users frequently highlighting their laid-back behavior around other animals and people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jordan Herrera, an attorney, Air Force veteran and former Missouri assistant attorney general, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday in Missouri’s newly redrawn 4th Congressional District, defeating better-funded democratic socialist Hartzell Gray in a seven-way primary.

Herrera prevailed over Gray, the 33-year-old former Kansas City radio host and tenant organizer who drew national attention after appearing on Hasan Piker’s Twitch livestream and blasting «sell-out Democrats.»

The result puts a more conventional Democrat on the November ballot against Republican Rep. Mark Alford in the GOP-leaning district, rather than Gray, who had framed his campaign as a left-wing challenge to the party establishment.

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The new 4th District takes in part of Kansas City before extending south through a broad swath of suburban and rural Missouri. While the map made Alford’s district less Republican than it had been, it remains a solidly GOP seat.

Gray emerged as the clear financial leader in the Democratic field. FEC records showed his campaign had raised about $250,000 through mid-July — more than six times the roughly $40,000 raised by Herrera and far more than Cass, the 2024 Democratic nominee who again sought the seat.

The Kansas City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America said its backing of Gray marked its first endorsement in a federal race. The group praised Gray’s refusal to take money from corporations, developers and lobbying groups, while pointing to his support for universal health care, tenant protections and more progressive taxation.

Then-Sporting Kansas City host Hartzell Gray pumps up the crowd in 2022 during a watch party for the announcement of the FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities at Power & Light District. (Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports)

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Gray, who has also called for rent controls, Medicare for All and ending the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, has framed his campaign as a rebuke of a Democratic Party he argues has become too closely tied to wealthy donors and corporate interests. The 2010 ruling allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited sums independently to influence elections.

His appearance on Piker’s show helped turn an otherwise low-profile Missouri primary into a small test case for the party’s socialist left, which has increasingly relied on social media personalities, small-dollar donors and activist networks to build support outside traditional party structures.

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Gray’s campaign said viewers gave more than $30,000 after the Piker appearance. He later appeared on The Majority Report , another left-leaning online program, as his campaign sought to translate national attention into turnout in Kansas City.

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America gather outside a Trump-owned building on May Day, May 1, 2019, in New York City. (Getty Images)

The primary also included former Democratic nominee Jeanette Cass, attorney and Air Force veteran Herrera, radio host Randy Miller, Ashleigh Rogers, Wayne Russell and G. Rick.

Gray’s nomination is a win for a local Democratic Socialists of America chapter that had not previously backed a federal candidate. But the general election will test whether the kind of coalition that powered him through a fractured Democratic primary can compete in a district intentionally drawn to favor Republicans.