Gustavo Petro today labeled his successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, a "servant" of the United States, in his final address as president of Colombia.

Petro asserted that Washington helped De la Espriella get elected, which will come at a cost to governability, and warned that, as opposition leader, he will encourage popular protests if the next government touches the social reforms enacted during his term.

"Colombia's next president will be a servant of the United States rulers who helped him, quote-unquote, get elected; we have thus passed from the status of Republic to the status of viceroyalty once again, as we did 216 years ago when we commemorated the first cry for independence," the outgoing president stated.

Petro spoke before thousands of people who packed the streets in one of the most popular and impoverished sectors, south of Bogotá, the president's political stronghold in the capital, to where he moved this July 20 commemoration of Independence Day. It was a brief ceremony, interrupted by people descending from the hillsides surrounding the city to hear Petro speak as president for the last time—he will hand over power on August 7 to the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella.

The president insisted that there was "fraud" in the runoff, which allowed De la Espriella to win, and stated that he will present evidence of his claim, asserting that U.S. President Donald Trump gave Secretary of State Marco Rubio the order to take charge of Colombia, and so he did.

"Since I now know President Donald Trump personally to some extent, I fear he told Marco Rubio, 'Take charge of Colombia,' and Marco Rubio took charge; he is a personal friend of Abelardo, and I will not go further because tonight we are going to show how it was done," the president warned.

Earlier, shortly before the military parade in Bogotá commemorating Independence Day, De la Espriella attended the celebration held in Medellín, a politically conservative region where he garnered much of his runoff vote. From there, he spoke to the troops and assured that he will take his oath of office at a military garrison.

"Today I am here, paying tribute to the heroes of the homeland, soldiers and police officers, but also to this people of Antioquia who do not kneel despite adversity; this people of patriots decided to defeat tyranny to defend democracy, freedom, and the rule of law," De la Espriella stated at the inauguration of the events, alongside Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez.

In his speech in Bogotá, Petro drew a comparison between the country's current moment and independence from Spain on July 20, 1810, asserting that it will be necessary to give "the second cry for independence" and called for "breaking a vase, saving the flowers, of course, and shouting freedom," in an analogy to Colombia's break from Spanish rule, which was triggered by the breaking of a vase.

The president, whom supporters asked to assume leadership of the opposition and his party, the Historical Pact—the largest political coalition in Congress—warned that he will accept that position only if his party's legislators do not vote to elect as Senate president the candidate De la Espriella is promoting, who has been maneuvering over the past week to secure a majority of votes.

The peculiarity of that election is that De la Espriella proposed a candidate of his choosing, Alfredo de Luque, over the proposal of his right-wing ally, former President Álvaro Uribe's Democratic Center party, which has Honorio Enríquez as its aspirant.

In that strategic chess game, Petro warned his allied parties, particularly the Green Party (center), that if they vote in favor of De la Espriella's Senate candidate, the alliances for next year's regional elections will be dissolved.

"No ally that votes for fascism, or any political party that votes for fascism in the Senate this afternoon, will count on the support of the popular force for Colombia's gubernatorial or mayoral elections. I am not waiting for the next elections," the president stated.

Petro also announced that the opposition will be exercised in the streets and "with resistance, with peace, with culture, and with joy," warning that any attempt by De la Espriella's government to end or undermine social achievements will result in a call for a national strike and protests.