20 Members of Congress Release Joint Statement Affirming Colombia’s Sovereignty & Rejecting U.S. Election Interference

Washington, June 12, 2026

WASHINGTON—Today, 20 Members of Congress led by Representative Jim McGovern (MA-02) released the following statement condemning efforts by U.S. elected officials to interfere in Colombia’s presidential election and reaffirming that Colombia’s future must be decided by the Colombian people alone:

“We strongly support the sovereignty of the people of Colombia and their right to determine the future of their country. The peoples of the United States and Colombia have enjoyed two centuries of friendship and partnership, with democracy as a core shared value. We wholeheartedly support the right of the Colombian people to exercise their democratic freedoms.

“Colombia is in the middle of national elections that will determine the country’s next president. The right to select that president belongs to the people of Colombia, and to the people of Colombia alone.

“We see actions by U.S. President Donald Trump and other Members of Congress to endorse, advocate for, or otherwise tip the scales to a particular candidate as detrimental to the democratic rights of the Colombian people, an insult to their sovereignty and integrity, and wholly inconsistent with long-standing U.S. principles of non-interference in foreign elections. The future of Colombia must be decided by the Colombian people—not American politicians with their own agenda.

“We look forward to working with whomever is democratically elected to advance relations between Colombia and the United States.”
McGovern was joined by Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Greg Casar (TX-35), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Adelita S. Grijalva (AZ-07), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).

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Spanish translation below:

WASHINGTON—Hoy, 20 Miembros del Congreso, liderados por el representante Jim McGovern (MA-02), emitieron la siguiente declaración condenando los esfuerzos de funcionarios electos estadounidenses por interferir en las elecciones presidenciales de Colombia y reafirmando que el futuro de Colombia debe ser decidido únicamente por el pueblo colombiano:

“Apoyamos firmemente la soberanía del pueblo de Colombia y su derecho a determinar el futuro de su país. Los pueblos de Estados Unidos y Colombia han disfrutado de dos siglos de amistad y asociación, con la democracia como valor común central. Apoyamos de todo corazón el derecho del pueblo colombiano a ejercer sus libertades democráticas.

“Colombia está en medio de elecciones nacionales que determinarán al próximo presidente del país. El derecho a elegir a ese presidente pertenece al pueblo de Colombia, y solo al pueblo de Colombia.

“Consideramos las acciones del presidente de los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, y otros miembros del Congreso para respaldar, abogar o inclinar la balanza a favor de un candidato en particular como perjudicial para los derechos democráticos del pueblo colombiano, un insulto a su soberanía e integridad y totalmente inconsistente con los principios estadounidenses de larga data de no injerencia en las elecciones extranjeras. El futuro de Colombia debe ser decidido por el pueblo colombiano, no por los políticos estadounidenses con su propia agenda.

“Trabajaremos con quien sea elegido democráticamente para avanzar relaciones entre Colombia y los Estados Unidos”

A McGovern se unieron los representantes Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Greg Casar (TX-35), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Adelita S. Grijalva (AZ-07), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) y Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).