Abelardo de la Espriella, a candidate from the far-right political movement Defenders of the Fatherland, won the second round of the presidential election in Colombia. He promises to tighten the fight against criminal gangs, strengthen security cooperation with the United States, lower taxes and expand oil production in the country. As CNN notes, de la Espriella's coming to power could put an end to the period of tense relations with the Donald Trump administration, which occurred during the presidency of the country's previous leader Gustavo Petro.
After nearly 100% of the ballots were counted, de la Espriella received 49.65% of the vote, ahead of his rival Iván Cepeda, who received 47.81% of the votes. The gap between the candidates was less than 250,000 votes. Cepeda advocated continuing the course of Petro, the first head of state from a leftist party in the history of Colombia, and sought to mobilize his electoral base, writes Reuters.
Donald Trump on Sunday evening confirmed de la Espriella's victory in a post on the social network Truth Social, to which he attached an article about the election results.
“He won big!” – Trump wrote.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he spoke with the winning candidate and also congratulated him on his victory.
“The Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming government to strengthen regional security, stop illegal migration into the United States, and advance our economic ties. Colombia’s best days are yet to come,” Rubio wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Business with losses and dubious clients
Before his political career, de la Espriella was a prominent criminal lawyer who represented a number of controversial figures. Among them are Alex Saab, who is considered a close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as well as David Murcia Guzman, one of Colombia's most notorious financial fraudsters. De la Espriella himself, in response to attacks on this matter, emphasized that he was only fulfilling his professional duties as a lawyer, the BBC emphasizes.
Although the politician calls himself a successful entrepreneur, an investigation by the Colombian publication La Silla Vacía showed that many companies associated with him have been liquidated or have significant debts. Its five operating companies had combined revenues of P16.13 billion in 2024, according to financial statements filed in 2025. However, the financial results of four of them after deducting expenses and taxes were very modest, and two companies generally ended the year with losses. His most profitable asset remains his law firm.
Despite his lack of experience in elected office, de la Espriella was able to register as a candidate through the collection of citizen signatures.
During the campaign, de la Espriella advocated an “iron fist” approach to fighting crime and corruption. In particular, he promised to build mega-prisons for gang leaders, modeled on the detention center created by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. In addition, the politician announced his intention to more actively use emergency decrees to quickly combat crime.
The next president promises to completely abandon negotiations with criminal groups and replace them with large-scale military operations. During the election campaign, the politician, who has both Colombian and US citizenship, told AFP he planned a 90-day campaign of air strikes against the cartels with support from the United States.
Earlier, Donald Trump publicly supported de la Espriella's candidacy, saying that he could count on the “full support and power of the United States.”
His other initiatives include reducing the government apparatus by about 40%, increasing oil and gas production, and reducing the tax burden.
According to the BBC, de la Espriella's victory reflects the strengthening of right-wing conservative movements in Latin America. Residents of many countries in the region are increasingly supporting conservative politicians in elections, mainly due to growing security concerns. Representatives from the right of the political spectrum have come to power in Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Bolivia over the past few years.
