Conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in Friday in Cali, promising stronger action against drug trafficking and armed groups, closer relations with the United States and Israel, and no attempt to extend his presidency beyond his four-year term.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
CALI, Colombia — Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in Friday as Colombia’s president for a four-year term, using his first address to promise a sweeping security campaign against drug traffickers and armed groups while pledging that his administration will relinquish power when his term ends Aug. 7, 2030.
The 48-year-old lawyer, nicknamed “The Tiger” and an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and the United States, took office after defeating far-left Sen. Iván Cepeda in Colombia’s June 21 presidential runoff. De la Espriella campaigned on fighting organized crime and terrorist organizations, eliminating corruption and rebuilding the country’s economy and security. He succeeds Gustavo Petro, a former member of M19 — characterized in the source as a Marxist terrorist group — who became Colombia’s first leftist president and has refused to recognize de la Espriella’s election victory.
Breaking with more than 200 years of tradition in which Colombian presidents were inaugurated in Bogotá, de la Espriella selected Cali for Friday’s ceremony. He was sworn in at approximately 4:30 p.m. local time at the Arena USC amphitheater of the University of Cali, taking the oath of office and receiving the presidential sash from Senate President Honorio Miguel Henríquez Pineda. De la Espriella then administered the oath to Vice President José Manuel Restrepo, who will serve alongside him through August 2030.
De la Espriella later delivered his first presidential address at Cantón Pichincha, a military base in Cali. He began by thanking the Colombian people and his family and expressing gratitude to Jesus Christ for watching over Colombia and its people during what he described as some of the nation’s darkest periods. He said his presidency would “close a long chapter of national resignation and to undertake, alongside the people, the most profound transformation of our destiny.”
“I send a firm message to the Colombian people — the time has come to restore order, authority, and freedom,” de la Espriella said, adding that he intended to govern for all Colombians regardless of whether they voted for him.
The new president also honored conservative Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was assassinated last year after being widely viewed as a leading contender for the 2026 presidency. “Thank you, Miguel Uribe Turbay, in Heaven. Colombia will never forget you,” de la Espriella said. A video shared from the inauguration captured portions of the ceremony, while Revista Semana also posted footage.
Security and drug trafficking formed a central part of de la Espriella’s first policy message. Addressing Colombia’s decades-long battle with cocaine trafficking, he said his administration would prioritize eradication of coca crops, the principal raw material used in cocaine production. He declared that the period of “negotiations” with criminal organizations was over and pledged to construct “mega-prisons” for those regarded as the most serious threats to Colombian security. Exercising his new authority as commander-in-chief, de la Espriella immediately ordered the Armed Forces to confront criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and said the government would disclose within hours the names of groups the Colombian Army considers terrorist organizations.
De la Espriella also sought to draw a firm boundary around the length and constitutional scope of his presidency. He said his administration would not pursue constitutional changes designed to alter the republic’s presidential term limits, invoking American founding father Thomas Jefferson, who he said “warned that there would never be a lack of real difficulties capable of serving as a pretext for prolonging the exercise of power.” De la Espriella said his government would end after four years and that he would turn the presidency and its institutions over to his eventual successor.
About 30 international delegations attended the inauguration, including Argentine President Javier Milei, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Chilean President José Antonio Kast, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Spain’s King Felipe VI. The United States sent a presidential delegation led by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Former Colombian Presidents Álvaro Uribe Velez and Iván Duque were also present, while Petro did not attend.
After administering the oath, Henríquez delivered an address outlining the security, economic, health care, corruption and drug-trafficking challenges facing the incoming government. Attendees also gave an approximately one-minute ovation honoring Uribe Turbay, and representatives of Colombia’s major religious communities offered prayers for the country and its new government. Additional footage of the ceremony was published online, including a post from Centro Democrático.
Cali’s selection carried both political and security significance. The capital of Valle del Cauca in southwestern Colombia is among the regions heavily affected by violence involving the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which the source described as a Marxist terrorist organization. De la Espriella reportedly said he selected Cali symbolically to demonstrate his administration’s commitment to confronting criminal and terrorist groups.
That symbolism came amid substantial security concerns surrounding the inauguration. Thousands of police and other law enforcement personnel were deployed throughout Cali, and the security operation was later reinforced and expanded following a series of threats. Police recently intercepted a bus carrying 420 kilograms of explosives near the city. Investigators said the explosives were connected to a plot led by a dangerous FARC commander that was intended to kill civilians and law enforcement officers in Cali. More than 11,000 law enforcement personnel were ultimately deployed in Cali and surrounding areas to secure the inauguration, according to El Colombiano.
The transfer of power occurred against continuing objections from Petro, who has repeatedly refused to accept de la Espriella’s victory. Petro has alleged that “algorithmic fraud” benefited de la Espriella and has referred to Cepeda, his preferred successor, as the “president of Colombia.” According to the information provided, Petro has not publicly presented substantiated evidence supporting his allegations beyond documents he has characterized as proof and statements published on social media.
During a press conference in the final hours of his administration this week, Petro warned that a “civil war” could erupt if de la Espriella were sworn in Friday. The previous month, while still commander-in-chief of Colombia’s Armed Forces, Petro also barred de la Espriella from holding his inauguration at a Colombian military or police facility.
Along with his domestic security agenda, de la Espriella has promised a major change in Colombia’s foreign policy. He has pledged to restore the country’s historically close relations with the United States and Israel after years of deterioration under Petro and has said Colombia will participate in Trump’s Shield of the Americas regional counter-cartel initiative.
Nate Morris, Trump’s nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to Colombia, has also said de la Espriella intends to withdraw the country from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which Colombia joined under Petro in 2025.
De la Espriella begins his presidency with security, organized crime, corruption and economic recovery at the center of his agenda, while his decision to inaugurate the new government in Cali underscored the priority he has placed on confronting armed groups operating in some of Colombia’s most violence-affected regions.
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