Far-right millionaire Abelardo de la Espriella wins Colombia's presidential runoff
Far-right millionaire and self-styled outsider Abelardo de la Espriella has won Colombia's presidential runoff against leftist senator Iván Cepeda, marking a sharp swing to the right after four years of President Gustavo Petro. The preliminary count shows a narrow margin of about 250,000 votes.
Narrow Victory
With 99.98% of ballots counted in the preliminary tally, De la Espriella secured 12.95 million votes (49.66%), compared to Cepeda's 12.7 million (48.7%). Blank ballots accounted for 1.6%. The margin of 249,901 votes was narrower than in the first round, where De la Espriella led by 673,000 votes.
Shift to the Right
De la Espriella's victory represents a significant move back to the right after four years under Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president. Petro, constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, had backed Cepeda. The result is seen as part of a far-right wave across Latin America, following recent wins in Honduras, Chile, and Peru.
International Reactions
De la Espriella, an admirer of Donald Trump, received Trump's endorsement after the first round. In his victory speech, he said he had spoken with Trump, who expressed support. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated De la Espriella and emphasized cooperation on security, immigration, and economic ties.
Disputed Results
President Petro alleged irregularities in the preliminary count without providing evidence, stating he would only recognize the official scrutiny process expected in two days. Cepeda also refused to accept the preliminary results, announcing his party would challenge 33,000 polling stations. In the first round, Petro made similar unsubstantiated fraud claims; the difference between preliminary and official counts was less than 0.1%.
Campaign Promises
The campaign was dominated by violence, and De la Espriella promised an iron-fist approach against criminal groups. He pledged to build ten maximum-security "mega-prisons," kill criminals "like rats and cockroaches," and "disembowel the left" (later called a figure of speech). Having never held office, he vowed to scrap Petro's "total peace" plan, which had only led to one small group disarming.
Background
De la Espriella, born in Bogotá but raised on the Caribbean coast, rose to prominence as a criminal lawyer representing paramilitary leaders. He later expanded into liquor, real estate, and menswear. His running mate is economist José Manuel Restrepo, a former finance minister under conservative President Iván Duque. They will take office with a minority in congress and a deeply divided country.
