BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s police are on most alert after detecting plans by radical teams to reject the outcomes of a second presidential election vote on Sunday and commit violence throughout the nation, prime cop General Luis Vargas mentioned on Tuesday.
Colombians will go to the polls on Sunday to decide on between leftist Gustavo Petro, who has vowed profound financial and social change, and building magnate Rodolfo Hernandez, a political outsider who has pledged to shrink authorities.
Plans to trigger violence and reject electoral outcomes have been found throughout social media, in addition to on the deep net and darkish net in posts printed by false or nameless accounts, Vargas mentioned.
“The nationwide police is ready with all of its capabilities,” Vargas mentioned.
Police have carried out 57 operations to date, capturing 267 members of radical teams, together with some linked to looting and vandalism carried out throughout large-scale anti-government protests final 12 months, Colombia’s nationwide police mentioned in a press release.
Vargas didn’t current proof however mentioned police have shared their findings with different intelligence companies.
Alexander Vega, the Colombian official charged with overseeing voting on Sunday, earlier requested Petro to respect the outcomes and warranted voters the method could be clear.
“The message for Petro is that he should respect and abide by the outcomes as he has performed in all of the elections by which he has participated,” Vega advised reporters.
Last week, Petro warned of potential election fraud in an interview with Reuters and mentioned that if proof of such exercise was handed to his marketing campaign group, he would denounce it.
Polls present Hernandez has a slight benefit over his leftist rival, however neither is polling above 50%.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
