Abelardo de la Espriella’s victory over left-wing Sen. Ivan Cepeda moves Colombia sharply right after a violent campaign marked by threats, bombings and the killing of a conservative presidential hopeful.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Abelardo de la Espriella, a U.S.-backed lawyer and political newcomer endorsed by President Donald Trump, narrowly won Colombia’s presidential runoff Sunday, defeating left-wing Sen. Ivan Cepeda after a bitter campaign dominated by security, drug violence and the future of the country’s peace process.
With more than 99% of polling centers reporting, De la Espriella had 49.65% of the vote, compared with Cepeda’s 48.70%, giving him an insurmountable lead in one of Colombia’s closest presidential contests in recent years.
The result marked a major shift to the right for Colombia and returned conservative leadership to a country where the right wing has held power for all but four of the last 200 years.
In Bogota, supporters of De la Espriella celebrated as the outcome became clear, waving flags, blowing horns and wearing the canary yellow national football jersey that became his campaign uniform.
The margin remained tight, with only a few hundred thousand votes separating the two candidates after a deeply fractured race. The campaign was marred by guerrilla bomb attacks, hundreds of threats against candidates and the murder of a leading conservative presidential hopeful.
De la Espriella, 47, has never held public office. A dual U.S.-Colombian national who calls himself “The Tiger,” he campaigned on a promise to take aggressive action against drug-running guerrilla groups and restore security across areas where armed organizations remain powerful.
His victory is expected to improve Colombia’s strained relationship with Washington, which has provided the South American nation with billions of dollars in military aid. Trump gave De la Espriella his “complete and total endorsement,” and the Colombian result extends a broader wave of right-wing electoral victories across Latin America.
The outcome is also expected to test Colombia’s fragile peace process, which began with the 2016 accord that ended the long conflict with FARC guerrillas. The war killed a quarter of a million people before the deal was signed.
During the campaign, De la Espriella told AFP he would immediately end peace talks with dissident groups that refused to sign the 2016 agreement. He also said he would launch a 90-day campaign of U.S.-backed airstrikes against them.
His platform includes support for the right to carry arms, construction of mega-prisons, expanded gas fracking, a smaller state and dollarization of Colombia’s economy.
In Barranquilla, 30-year-old supporter Daniela Oliveros said De la Espriella’s message appealed to voters seeking stronger security and economic opportunity.
“I’m very happy,” Oliveros said.
“I believe a lot in the country, I believe a lot in freedom. And Abelardo, at this moment, is giving us above all a sense of security, employment, and dignity,” she said.
Colombia has seen significant economic gains in the decade since the peace accord was signed, but security challenges remain. Cartels and dissident guerrilla groups continue to control parts of the country, cocaine exports have reached an all-time high and Colombia remains among the world’s most economically unequal nations.
Cepeda, 63, drew support from Colombians who favored a more equal economy and feared that a harder security approach could return the country to wider violence.
Santiago Galindo, a 40-year-old bank worker who voted for Cepeda, said he was concerned about what De la Espriella’s presidency could bring.
“I’m very worried about what Abelardo might do in a government,” Galindo said.
Galindo said he feared “how far his thirst for power could go and his willingness to trample over people without really caring about them.”
De la Espriella’s win now places Colombia on course for a new confrontation with armed groups that remain outside the peace process, while signaling a closer alignment with Washington and a major ideological reversal after years of left-wing leadership.
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