“You can't stop inheriting a government led by a guerrilla, drunk, mythomaniac”: Enrique Gómez lashes out at Petro

The presidential candidate for the National Salvation Movement, nephew of conservative leader Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, who was killed on May 2, 1995, threw darts at the opposition leader

Colombian presidential candidate Enrique Gomez attends a presidential debate on national television in Bogota, Colombia March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

This Saturday, April 23, the presidential candidate for the National Salvation Movement, Enrique Gómez, lashed out at the opposition leader and presidential candidate of the Historical Pact, Gustavo Petro, whom he referred to as “guerrilla, drunk and mythomaniac, capable of making agreements with the most atrocious criminals in the country.”

The independent presidential candidate, nephew of conservative leader Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, who was assassinated on May 2, 1995, referred to the controversy between the left-wing senator, who leads the polls of intent to vote in the country, with the commander of the National Army, General Eduardo Zapateiro, after he made several questioning the security forces following the attack in Frontino, Antioquia, in which six soldiers lost their lives.

We cannot leave an inheritance to our children and grandchildren a government led by a guerrilla, drunk, mythomaniac capable of making agreements with the most atrocious criminals in this country. That is unacceptable, as a society we cannot allow it. Good citizens are more,” said Enrique Gómez through his Twitter account.

He also reiterated his “total and unconditional” support for the Colombian armed forces and the commander of the Army, who was denounced to the Attorney General's Office for participating in politics and who was criticized by several opposition politicians, who pointed out that he wanted to attack democracy and violate neutrality which must be maintained by members of the military forces.

These statements come hours after the commander of the Army responded to the allegations in which the candidate of the Historical Pact suggested that the “top is corrupted when it is the politicians of drug trafficking who end up promoting the generals,” to which he said: “I have not seen any general on television receiving badly gotten money. Colombians have seen you receive money in a garbage bag.”

Finally, he shared a photo of Álvaro Gómez Hurtado with a caption that stated: “Today more than ever it is good to remember something that Álvaro Gómez Hurtado left us with great wisdom. In view of the fact that at the point of poorly conducted surveys they want to put us a Drunkard Mythomaniac as a tyrant in Colombia. Let's not let Colombia be taken away.”

These statements by the presidential candidate come hours after the results of the latest poll by the National Consulting Center (CNC)i/i for Semana magazine were released, which does not leave a picture so different from that reflected by other studies: candidate Gustavo Petro would win the first and second rounds, with 38.0 per cent approval, followed by the candidate of the Coalition Team for Colombia, Federico 'Fico' Gutiérrez with 23.8%

KEEP READING