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Original article: Petro no está suspendido: juristas desmontan operación de desinformación en Colombia

President of Colombia Gustavo Petro has not been suspended from his position. This was asserted unequivocally by a group of legal experts and lawmakers, who dismantled a disinformation operation that aimed to mislead the public into believing the head of state had been removed from power by the Commission of Investigation and Accusation.

Experts agree that this body has no legal authority to implement such a measure, as the Constitution assigns that power solely to the plenary sessions of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

They clarified that the controversial resolution circulating on social media and some news outlets is merely an initial draft that hasn’t even been discussed and labeled any claim to suspend the president through that mechanism as «legally questionable» and «absurd». They warned that it serves as a smokescreen amid the tense political backdrop leading up to the presidential runoff on June 21, where the ruling Pacto Histórico, led by Iván Cepeda will face the far-right candidate Abelardo De la Espriella from Defensores de la Patria.

«The president is not suspended; this is merely a project that does not have the power to suspend the head of state,» declared criminal lawyer Francisco Bernate in an interview with El Calentao on Señal Colombia.

Bernate emphasized that a report to the Commission of Accusations cannot suspend the president. To reach such a severe measure, the process necessarily demands a debate within the Commission, followed by another in the House of Representatives, and finally a third debate in the Senate. Only if the latter body determines the president’s unworthiness can suspension proceed, referring the case to the Supreme Court of Justice. «This project must be approached with total caution,» the lawyer added, according to Radio Nacional de Colombia.

«There is no legal basis for the Commission of Accusations to suspend the president»

For his part, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti clarified that the Commission of Accusations has no power to suspend the President of the Republic, as its sole function is to investigate.

He explained that the only body allowed to remove the president from office is the Senate and only after a full formal accusation has been issued by the House of Representatives. Therefore, he insisted that the decision to suspend the head of state cannot rest on the will of a single congressperson, referring to the president of the Commission of Investigation and Accusation of the House of Representatives, Gloria Arizabaleta, who ordered to «provisionally suspend the president’s exercise of office» until June 21 at 16:00 local time, when the ballot closes, following accusations of alleged participation in electoral politics.

«There is no legal basis for the Commission of Accusations to suspend the president because it is an investigatory commission. Only the Senate can do so after the plenary of the House acts as an accusatory body, either criminally or disciplinarily,» stated the former Colombian ambassador to the FAO and Venezuela on his X account.

From within the Commission itself, House Representative for the Pacto Histórico, Alejandro Ocampo, categorically denied that Petro has been suspended or summoned for inquiry.

«The rumors circulating are solely related to a motion that hasn’t even been discussed within the Commission,» he emphasized. According to the legislator, these false claims only seek to generate disinformation and anxiety in the national political context.

Senator Angélica Lozano went even further by labeling the resolution signed by the president of the Commission of Investigation and Accusation as «absurd», arguing that it blatantly violates Article 194 of the Political Constitution, which states unequivocally that only the Senate of the Republic has the legal competence to suspend or remove the president.

Lozano detailed the rigorous constitutional process outlined in Article 194 of the Colombian Constitution, stating that the committee must first vote on the project, then pass it to the plenary of the House, after which it goes to a committee of three lawyers, and only then does it proceed to a final vote in the Senate.

In conclusion, Petro is not suspended, and the disinformation campaign has been dismantled by legal opinions and arguments from the jurists.

La entrada Colombian President Gustavo Petro Remains in Office Amid Disinformation Campaign se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.