(FILES) Colombia's presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, of the Salvadores de la Patria movement, greets supporters as he votes at a polling station during the presidential election in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 31, 2026. (AFP)
Colombia’s hard-right presidential frontrunner on June 2 promised much closer ties with the United States after receiving the backing of President Donald Trump.
Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer campaigning as a tough-on-crime outsider, said relations with Washington would be “like never before” if he defeats leftist senator Ivan Cepeda in a June 21 runoff.
De la Espriella was the surprise winner of the first round of the presidential election on May 31, held against the backdrop of a surge in drug-related guerrilla violence.
He garnered over 43 percent, compared to 41 percent for Cepeda, with the law and order platform that has propelled right-wingers to power across Latin America.
The third-placed candidate Paloma Valencia, a conservative, has thrown her support behind the right-wing showman, putting him in pole position to become the next president of one of Washington’s closest South American allies.
Writing on his Truth Social platform on June 2,
Trump described the results of the election as “very important to the future of Colombia and its relationship to the United States.”
Citing De la Espriella’s “tremendous accomplishments in life, and his political support for me, personally,” Trump gave the self-styled Colombian “Tiger” his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Trump had a combustible relationship with outgoing left-wing President Gustavo Petro during his first year back in the White House.
The pair traded blows on social media over migration and Trump’s campaign of deadly strikes on suspected drug boats operating out of Latin America.
“When one country intervenes in the decisions of another country, freedom dies,” Petro wrote on June 2 in response to Trump’s endorsement.
“I invite all of Colombia to vote in complete freedom.”
Cepeda has promised to continue Petro’s legacy of pursuing dialogue with armed groups, including drug traffickers, and reducing inequality.
