BlackCore’s Global Pattern: How Colombia Became the Latest Country to Accuse the Israeli Firm of Election Interference
Maryam Tariq
Colombia’s outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, has accused an Israeli cyber intelligence firm called BlackCore of interfering in the country’s recent presidential runoff, in which a far right, pro Israel candidate narrowly beat his leftwing ally. The accusation lands squarely inside a pattern that investigators in France had already been tracking for months, one that now spans five countries across four continents, with Colombia potentially becoming the sixth.
What Happened in Colombia’s Election
Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire criminal defence lawyer holding US citizenship and endorsed by President Trump, secured 49.66 percent of the vote in the June 21 runoff, narrowly defeating Petro’s ally Ivan Cepeda’s 48.7 percent. Petro wrote on X that BlackCore deployed 500,000 bot profiles to spread lies about him and Cepeda, and separately alleged that foreign actors accessed Colombia’s National Registry website and manipulated polling data, saying the only entity capable of that level of access was the state of Israel. He has requested an independent forensic audit of the electoral software and a full recount, both currently unauthorized by Colombia’s registrar, and has withheld formal recognition of de la Espriella as president elect, though he has confirmed he will still hand over power when his constitutional term ends.
The Pattern BlackCore Was Already Linked To
What makes Petro’s accusation land differently than a typical post election dispute is that BlackCore was not an unknown name going into this. France’s official disinformation watchdog, Viginum, had already formally linked the firm to coordinated bot and proxy account campaigns targeting elections in Scotland, France, New York City, Angola and Togo. In Scotland, Viginum documented BlackCore coordinating hundreds of accounts posting negative comments about First Minister John Swinney ahead of May’s Scottish parliament elections. Swinney is one of the few sitting UK politicians to have publicly described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide, the exact reason Petro has cited for believing he was targeted as well. French prosecutors opened a formal investigation into BlackCore in May over similar activity aimed at pro Palestinian candidates in France’s own municipal elections.
How Colombia Fits Into the Wider Picture
Petro is Colombia’s most prominent critic of Israel on the world stage, having broken diplomatic relations with the country in 2024 over the war in Gaza. That history is central to why he believes he and Cepeda were targeted using the same tactics documented elsewhere, a bot driven disinformation campaign designed to shift a close race at the margins. The Colombian election was decided by less than one percentage point, a margin narrow enough that even a modest disinformation push could plausibly factor into how undecided voters broke in the final days.
What Investigators Have and Haven’t Confirmed
Across every country Viginum has named, one detail has stayed consistent, investigators have documented the coordinated activity itself but have not identified who commissioned any of these campaigns. That includes Colombia, where Petro’s specific claims about BlackCore’s involvement have not yet been matched by an equivalent Viginum style technical finding. What is confirmed is BlackCore’s now well established operational footprint, and the fact that the firm went dark, deleting its entire online presence, shortly after being contacted by Reuters about its France related activity in June.
Why This Story Keeps Growing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly congratulated de la Espriella on X following his win, writing that Israel’s friends continue to win, a comment that lands differently against the backdrop of BlackCore’s documented activity elsewhere. Whether or not Colombia becomes the next country where investigators formally confirm BlackCore’s involvement, the firm’s expanding footprint across Scotland, France, New York, Angola and Togo shows a disinformation for hire operation now working across multiple democracies simultaneously, a trend regulators are still struggling to keep pace with.
Sources:
· Colombia’s Outgoing President Says Israeli Firm Meddled in Election — Novara Media: https://novaramedia.com/2026/07/15/colombias-outgoing-president-says-israeli-firm-meddled-in-election/
· Colombia’s Petro accuses Israeli cyberfirm BlackCore of election interference — Anadolu Agency: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/colombias-petro-accuses-israeli-cyberfirm-blackcore-of-election-interference/3994677
· Colombia’s Petro accuses Israeli cyberfirm BlackCore of election interference — Middle East Monitor: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260711-colombias-petro-accuses-israeli-cyberfirm-blackcore-of-election-interference/
· Colombia’s Petro alleges Israeli interference in election, demands audit and recount — Middle East Monitor: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260622-colombias-petro-alleges-israeli-interference-in-election-demands-audit-and-recount/
