A Country That Has Swung from Way Left to Way Right
Colombia has taken a dramatic turn to the political right after attorney and political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella claimed victory in the country’s razor-thin presidential runoff election. His triumph marks one of the biggest political upsets in recent Colombian history and signals a potential reshaping of not only Colombia’s domestic policies but also the broader political landscape of Latin America.
Unlike most Colombian presidents, De la Espriella came to power without ever having held elected office. Prior to entering politics, he built his reputation as one of Colombia’s most famous and controversial criminal defense attorneys. Born in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, he graduated from law school and became known for representing powerful businessmen, politicians, and figures linked to Colombia’s long and violent internal conflicts. His law firm grew into one of the country’s most influential legal practices, making him a millionaire long before he entered politics.
For years, De la Espriella was a regular face on Colombian television and social media, where he cultivated an image as a nationalist, anti-establishment conservative. Despite his connections to the country’s elite, he portrayed himself as an outsider willing to challenge Bogotá’s political class. He launched his presidential campaign in 2025 and rapidly surged in the polls, capitalizing on voter frustration over crime, economic difficulties, and dissatisfaction with the administration of outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
A Trump-Style Campaign
De la Espriella’s campaign style drew immediate comparisons to Donald Trump. The Colombian candidate openly admired Trump and embraced populist rhetoric centered on nationalism, law and order, and shrinking the size of government. Trump eventually endorsed him after the first round of voting, giving the Colombian conservative a significant boost among right-leaning voters.
The president-elect has also expressed admiration for Nayib Bukele and his aggressive anti-gang tactics in El Salvador. Supporters call De la Espriella “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” seeing him as a strongman willing to restore order after years of rising insecurity. Critics, however, worry that his policies could lead Colombia toward a more authoritarian style of governance.
The Election Results
The runoff election between De la Espriella and leftist Senator Iván Cepeda turned into one of the closest presidential races in modern Colombian history.
According to Colombia’s final electoral count:
Abelardo de la Espriella: 12.96 million votes (49.66%)
Iván Cepeda: 12.71 million votes (48.70%)
Blank ballots: Approximately 1.6%
De la Espriella’s margin of victory was roughly 250,000 votes, less than one percentage point nationwide. The official count differed from the preliminary tally by only 0.003%, confirming the legitimacy of the election despite challenges and allegations of irregularities from Petro and Cepeda’s supporters.
Law and Order Above All
The central theme of De la Espriella’s campaign was security.
Colombia has seen increasing violence from drug cartels, dissident guerrilla groups, and criminal organizations despite the historic 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. De la Espriella argued that Petro’s “Total Peace” strategy of negotiating with armed groups had failed and instead allowed criminal organizations to expand their influence.
His security proposals included: Building ten new maximum-security mega-prisons, expanding military operations against criminal groups, increasing police powers, resuming aggressive aerial eradication efforts against coca cultivation, and seeking greater cooperation with the United States in combating organized crime and narcotics trafficking.
He has repeatedly vowed to “crush” criminal organizations and described criminals as needing to be treated like “rats and cockroaches,” language that has energized supporters but alarmed human rights groups.
His Stance on Narco-Terrorism
Few issues are more important to Colombians than narco-terrorism. Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine, and drug trafficking continues to fuel violence throughout the country. De la Espriella has called narcotics trafficking a national security threat and has promised to wage an uncompromising campaign against cartels and armed groups financed by the drug trade. He has advocated closer security cooperation with Washington and has expressed support for expanded intelligence-sharing and military assistance.
His critics argue that returning to hardline military strategies may repeat mistakes of previous decades, when heavy-handed tactics reduced violence in some areas but also led to allegations of human rights abuses and failed to eliminate the underlying drug economy.
Beyond security, De la Espriella has promised: tax reductions, deregulation, shrinking the size of government by up to 40%, reviving Colombia’s oil and energy sectors, and encouraging foreign investment. His economic team includes former finance minister José Manuel Restrepo, who is expected to play a major role in implementing these reforms.
What Does This Mean for Colombia and Latin America?
The election represents a sharp rejection of the policies of President Petro and a dramatic ideological shift to the right. However, De la Espriella will face enormous challenges.
His political movement holds only a small number of seats in Congress, meaning he will need to build coalitions to pass legislation. Colombia remains deeply polarized, and millions of voters opposed his candidacy. Any effort to implement sweeping reforms will require negotiation with a fragmented legislature and a divided electorate.
De la Espriella’s victory is also significant beyond Colombia’s borders. His election continues a broader trend of rightward political shifts across Latin America, with conservative and nationalist candidates making gains in countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. Rising crime, economic frustration, and voter dissatisfaction with traditional political parties have fueled this trend.
Relations between Colombia and the United States are also likely to grow closer under De la Espriella’s administration. He has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Washington as Colombia’s most important strategic partner in the fight against organized crime and illegal migration.
Whether Abelardo de la Espriella becomes the strongman reformer his supporters hope for or the polarizing figure his critics fear remains to be seen. What is certain is that Colombia has entered a new political era. A wealthy lawyer with no prior governing experience has risen from television pundit and courtroom celebrity to president-elect of one of Latin America’s most important nations. His administration will now be tested by the very problems that propelled him to power: crime, narcotics trafficking, economic uncertainty, and a deeply divided country searching for stability.
