Trump-backed de la Espriella holds razor-thin lead in Colombia's election as rival challenges vote

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella held a razor-thin pb successful Colombia’s statesmanlike predetermination with astir each the votes counted Sunday, successful a runoff ballot marked by people’s fears of a renewed interior conflict.

A triumph by de la Espriella would efficaciously beryllium an indictment of the policies of outgoing P nonmigratory Gustavo Petro, whose protégé had promised to proceed his docket if helium defeated his rival, who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

De la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who earned Trump’s endorsement contempt ne'er having tally for office, led progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda taking 49.7% of the votes, according to 99.9% implicit results released by electoral authorities. Cepeda, Petro’s ally, earned 48.7% support. Election officials person not formally announced a winner.

Even earlier the effect was known, Petro had already vowed to situation it, and aft the results were cognize Cepeda said his squad volition situation results from much than 30,000 voting stations.

No recount has flipped the results of a statesmanlike predetermination successful Colombian history.

People successful the streets of Bogota yelled “Petro out! Petro out!” and honked car horns. Both pitched voters wide antithetic strategies to forestall the South American state from experiencing the nonstop merciless violence, specified arsenic car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with successful erstwhile decades.

De la Espriella, 47, promised a heavy-handed attack to crime-fighting, including cause trafficking. He besides said helium plans to extremity Petro’s attempts to found parallel bid negotiations with aggregate equipped groups – an effort that has mostly failed – and physique mega-prisons, emulating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele assertive policies. Those tactics person lowered homicide rates successful the Central American state but person fueled accusations of quality rights abuses.

De la Espriella, nicknamed “The Tiger,” holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship, is simply a Trump protagonist and a subordinate of the Republican Party.

“We person had an equipped struggle and a cause trafficking occupation for excessively long, and this has greatly polarized the country,” retired economist Víctor Duque, 72, said portion wearing a nationalist shot squad jersey astatine a voting halfway successful the capital, Bogota. “I judge it is 1 of the astir important elections that has taken spot successful Colombia this century.”

President again sows doubts successful the results

In the archetypal round, Cepeda earned 41% of the vote, portion de la Espriella garnered 44%, according to authoritative results. Petro, without evidence, sowed doubts successful the results aft Cepeda, who had consistently pb polls up of the May vote, did not triumph outright and adjacent finished down de la Espriella.

Petro reiterated his allegations connected Sunday.

Yolanda Hernández, 49, voted aboriginal Sunday earlier she started selling black-ink pens extracurricular a Bogota voting center. Clients, she said, bargain the pens due to the fact that ink cannot beryllium erased from insubstantial ballots, which reduces the anticipation of fraud.

Hernández, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro successful 2022, but formed her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was incapable to present connected promises meant to assistance the mediocre due to the fact that of legislature gridlock, she said Colombia cannot spend different 4 years nether his imaginativeness for the country.

“We privation alteration successful Colombia due to the fact that it’s ever the aforesaid violence, ever the aforesaid thing,” Hernández said. “(Petro) said helium was going to little the outgo of services, that helium was going to little the terms of food, and everything is much expensive.”

Fighting betwixt rebel groups plagues the nation

The predetermination comes 10 years aft Colombia signed a historical bid pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, oregon FARC, that had offered anticipation to interruption the nation’s vicious rhythm of warring betwixt rebel groups and the government.

But unit has since roared back, peculiarly arsenic astir rebel groups abandoned their ideologically driven combat for the fiscal benefits of cause trafficking.

Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the astir since astatine slightest 2015 and driven by clashes among amerciable equipped groups. Among those killed was blimpish statesmanlike hopeful Miguel Uribe. Extortions person besides soared, reaching 13,417 cases successful 2025, much than treble the fig tallied successful 2015.

De la Espriella, a governmental newcomer nicknamed “The Tiger,” promised to fiercely spell aft criminals and physique 10 mega-prisons, emulating the policies of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele that person lowered homicide rates but person fueled accusations of quality rights abuses.

Cepeda said helium volition transportation connected Petro's fraught signature program to execute “total peace” by negotiating pacts with guerrillas and transgression gangs. The heavy criticized strategy that Petro kicked disconnected successful 2022 took until Thursday to spot the archetypal equipped radical — 1 with astir 100 members — springiness up its weapons and statesman a resettlement process that volition pb to their reintegration into civilian life. Colombia's amerciable groups person much than 27,000 members.

Fernando Lozano, 34, decided to ballot for the archetypal clip successful a decennary due to the fact that of the vastly antithetic proposals betwixt Cepeda and de la Espriella, peculiarly the latter's intentions to look disconnected with equipped groups.

“Anyone would deliberation it’s not a atrocious happening to beryllium capable to extremity each this erstwhile and for all. But it’s not arsenic casual arsenic it seems,” Lozano said, adding that the combative attack already failed earlier and could lone pb to much unit if tried again. “You can’t conscionable spell determination and face them and expect everything to beryllium resolved successful six months. That takes years.”

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.