{"id":134144,"date":"2026-06-22T16:01:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T22:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/trump-endorsed-de-la-espriella-holds-slim-lead-in-colombias-election-as-his-rival-challenges-vote\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T16:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T22:44:15","slug":"trump-endorsed-populist-poised-to-become-colombias-next-president-as-rival-challenges-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/trump-endorsed-populist-poised-to-become-colombias-next-president-as-rival-challenges-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump-endorsed populist poised to become Colombia’s next president as rival challenges vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Presidential
Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement addresses supporters at a rally after runoff election results showed him leading in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 Eccentric, ostentatious and artistic, Abelardo de la Espriella<\/a> is also a political neophyte who is poised to become Colombia\u2019s next president after leaning into everything that makes him different from the conventional politician to win people\u2019s support.<\/p>\n

The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> endorsement despite never having run for office and on Monday led the presidential runoff race by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes, with all but a fraction of the votes counted.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella\u2019s victory, which electoral authorities are expected to declare this week, will add Colombia<\/a> to a growing list of countries<\/a> that have turned to political outsiders in search for solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.<\/p>\n

The self-proclaimed representative of \u201cthe never-before-seen\u201d promised voters fearful of renewed internal conflict<\/a> to combat violent crime with an iron fist, pledging a strategy that includes ending outgoing President Gustavo Petro\u2019s attempts to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups<\/a> \u2014 an effort that has largely failed \u2014 and building mega-prisons, emulating those of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.<\/p>\n

Progressive candidate Iv\u00e1n Cepeda, Petro\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9, is challenging the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like either of them, but I\u2019m terrified of continuity,\u201d retiree Mar\u00eda del Rosario Villaveces, 66, said after voting Sunday in the capital, Bogota.<\/p>\n

Villaveces, 66, added she is concerned that de la Espriella \u201chas no idea about politics,\u201d but she said that his running mate, former finance minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Restrepo, gives her \u201ca little peace of mind\u201d because \u201che does know (politics) and is well organized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petro is as much a candidate as Cepeda and de la Espriella<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 26 million people voted in the runoff. Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.<\/p>\n

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said most voters do not perceive lack of political experience as a risk even though plenty of outsiders have failed to get much done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted a candidate who would decisively break with Petro and the left,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of the country was voting as much against Petro and the left as for de la Espriella, associating the left with erosion of security, economic stagnation, etc., whether or not that\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

De la Espriella, nicknamed \u201cThe Tiger,\u201d told thousands of supporters that he will \u201cgovern for all Colombians.\u201d But as he spoke behind a bulletproof glass Sunday night, he also echoed the frustration of many eager to see the end of Petro’s presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cPack your bags and prepare to become the opposition,\u201d he told Petro’s camp. \u201cMake no mistake, Mr. Cepeda. You already know how fiercely the tiger roars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cepeda on Monday responded to the remarks, warning de la Espriella against threats, veiled or otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t come threatening us,” Cepeda said in the capital, Bogota. “Neither your roars nor your screams frighten us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also asked supporters to remain calm and maintain \u201cexemplary behavior.\u201d Hours earlier, people in the western city of Cali took to the streets, damaging a public bus, several surveillance cameras and an ATM.<\/p>\n

Voters expect security improvements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s winner will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.<\/p>\n

The candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from the nonstop violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.<\/p>\n

Yolanda Hern\u00e1ndez, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022 but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want change in Colombia because it\u2019s always the same violence, always the same thing,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez, 49, said. \u201c(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015, driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe<\/a>. Colombia\u2019s illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella, 47, pitched a heavy-handed approach<\/a> to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking, with tactics that draw from Bukele’s playbook. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella joins list with Milei and Noboa<\/strong><\/p>\n

De la Espriella managed to defeat more experienced conservative politicians in May’s first-round vote, including Sen. Paloma Valencia, who represented the party of the influential former President \u00c1lvaro Uribe<\/a>. For Yann Basset, a professor of Political Science at the University of Rosario, De la Espriella’s feat marks a \u201c new stage for the Colombian right.<\/a> \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is perhaps a weariness among political figures that contributes to the success of this outsider populism against the political class,\u201d Basset said.<\/p>\n

In Latin America, several presidents have achieved electoral victories with little political experience.<\/p>\n

In Argentina, Javier Milei<\/a>, a television commentator, formed a party, rose to fame and served as a congressman shortly before becoming president. In Ecuador, Daniel Noboa<\/a>, an heir to a fortune built on the banana trade, entered a snap election with only months of experience as a National Assembly member and won.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He\u2019s a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to \u201cEl Tigre\u201d (THE TIGER!) Abelardo de la Espriella, the new President of Colombia!” Trump said Monday on Truth Social. \u201cIt was my Great Honor to endorse him, and I look forward to working together to build a powerful relationship between Colombia and the United States of America, which will bring new levels of Greatness for both of our Countries!\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Ivan Cepeda, presidential candidate with the ruling Historic Pact Coalition, arrives to give a press conference the day after the presidential election runoff in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sen.
Sen. Ivan Cepeda, presidential candidate with the ruling Historic Pact Coalition, gives a press conference the day after the presidential election runoff in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sen.
Sen. Ivan Cepeda, presidential candidate with the ruling Historic Pact Coalition, gives a press conference the day after the presidential election runoff in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella of the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement addresses supporters at a rally after runoff election results showed him leading in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd)(AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd) BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 Eccentric, ostentatious and artistic, Abelardo de la Espriella is also a political neophyte […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-134144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134144"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134274,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134144\/revisions\/134274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134144"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=134144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}