Colombia shifts right as Abelardo de la Espriella seizes the presidency
Far-right outsider Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly defeats Iván Cepeda in Colombia’s presidential runoff, securing about 49.65% to 48.7% (roughly 248,000-vote margin) with 99.65% counted. His win marks a turn away from four years of Petro and a broader Latin American trend toward the right. De la Espriella has promised a hardline security approach, including ten maximum-security “mega-prisons,” seeking U.S. backing for actions against coca cultivation, and shrinking the state by about 40%. He will take office on August 7 with a minority in Congress, alongside vice-president José Manuel Restrepo, in a deeply polarized country. Petro has questioned the preliminary results and called for the official scrutiny process to conclude before declaring a final outcome.
