Outsider conservative candidate Abelardo De la Espriella appears to have won Colombia’s runoff vote on Sunday by a narrow margin. If the count holds up, it represents a significant turn to the right from Colombia’s outgoing current president, Gustavo Petro.
De la Espriella, known as “El Tigre” (The Tiger), was backed by President Trump and won on a platform of immigration reform, a tough stance on crime, and a crackdown on the country’s drug cartels. De la Espriella holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship.
The official count was 49.7 for De la Espriella to 48.7 for his challenger, Iván Cepeda, a progressive lawmaker. Cepeda said his campaign considers the vote tally to be “unofficial” and will challenge the results. President Petro said there would be a recount of some ballot stations.
De la Espriella told thousands of supporters in the northern city of Barranquilla, “I appear before you tonight to announce the most important news of my life: the Colombian people have entrusted me with the supreme honor of serving them as their next president of the Republic of Colombia,”
He added, “I will govern for all Colombians … there will be no retaliation, no persecution, because in a democracy there are no irreconcilable enemies.”
President Trump reportedly spoke with De la Espriella by phone and posted on Truth Social, “He won, BIG!”
If it holds up, De la Espriella’s victory will mark another victory for conservative candidates in the western half of South America, who have recently won a string of victories from Argentina northward to Colombia.
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