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Leftist Colombia candidate demands audit of vote count software

AFP

The campaign team of leftist Gustavo Petro, leading in opinion polls in Colombia’s presidential race, on Monday demanded an “immediate” audit of vote-counting software less than two weeks before the first election round.

Electoral judges have already ordered a software review after discrepancies arose in the counting of votes cast for a new parliament in March, but none has taken place.

The final tally of the March ballot for the Senate and House of Representatives showed 400,000 votes for Petro’s leftist coalition that had not shown up in provisional results published on election day.

Ex-guerrilla Petro’s “Historical Pact” alliance obtained extra seats in parliament as a result, ending with 45 in the two houses combined.

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This made it the biggest grouping along with the Liberal Party, though numerous legal challenges has held up the final, official allocation of seats.

Colombia’s right-wing coalition and the incumbent Democratic Center Party lost seats between the two counts, and challenged the final result.

Observers have expressed concern about possible unrest should the outcome of Colombia’s deeply-polarized presidential election also be contested. The first round will take place on May 29, with a likely run-off on June 19.

After the March debacle, the country’s National Electoral Council instructed the body in charge of the vote count — the National Civil Registry — to arrange an “international audit” of vote counting software.

But in a letter published Monday, Petro’s coalition said it was “concerned” that the registry had not yet appointed an auditor.

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It urged registry boss Alexander Vega to act “immediately” in order to “give peace of mind to political forces and citizens.”

Voting is done on paper in Colombia, but the results are processed and transmitted via two digital programs designed by private entrepreneurs.

Civil society organizations have questioned the transparency of these programs and requested a review of their source code.

Petro’s campaign also complained after the mayor of Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city, was suspended after implicitly supporting the leftist candidate’s run.

Public officials in Colombia, even elected ones, are not allowed to publicly take political sides.

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Mayor Daniel Quintero was suspended last week pending a disciplinary probe into claims of “repeated intervention in political activities.”

He was replaced by an interim mayor appointed by the outgoing right-wing President Ivan Duque.

Petro, 62, has denounced a “coup d’etat in Medellin” and urged the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to intervene.

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International

Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority

President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.

The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.

This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.

The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.

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International

U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration

A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.

During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.

Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.

Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.

On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.

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Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco

The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.

Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.

“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.

Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.

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The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.

As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.

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