Trump-backed lawyer wins Colombia runoff, triggering protests and rightward shift

Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old criminal defense lawyer with no prior elected office, swept into Colombia’s presidency by the narrowest of margins, giving the country a sharp rightward turn and igniting protests over the legitimacy of the result. With almost all ballots counted, de la Espriella held 49.66% against Iván Cepeda’s 48.70%, a sliver of a lead in a runoff that laid bare how deeply split Latin America’s third-most populous nation has become.

The outcome capped a volatile campaign that began with a surprise first-round showing on May 31, when electoral authorities certified de la Espriella with 44% of the vote and Cepeda, the left-wing senator from Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact, with 41%. The runoff followed on June 21, and the result was still being challenged as the count advanced, underscoring how little margin separated victory from a fresh political crisis.

De la Espriella built his campaign on a hardline security message. He promised 10 mega-prisons, vowed a war on drug-running guerrilla groups and cast himself as the candidate who would restore order through military-led policing, borrowing heavily from Nayib Bukele’s model in El Salvador. His victory also extended Donald Trump’s imprint on the region’s politics: Trump endorsed de la Espriella earlier this month, and later said the result mattered for Colombia’s future and its relationship with the United States. Marco Rubio then congratulated him and said the Trump administration looked forward to closer security cooperation, efforts to end illegal immigration to the United States and stronger economic ties.

The political fallout was immediate. Petro questioned the results on social media and cited alleged irregularities at polling stations, while protests broke out in Bogotá and Cali. Demonstrators clashed with riot police, burned tires and threw bricks; in some cases, they burned American flags, a vivid sign that the runoff had become a referendum not only on Colombia’s next president but on the country’s alignment with Washington. Supporters celebrated in Barranquilla and other cities, waving flags and cheering the prospect that “The Tiger” would bring security.

The anger reflects a broader strain in Colombia’s politics. The election came after guerrilla bomb attacks, the murder of a leading conservative presidential candidate and a period of record cocaine production as Petro’s government de-emphasized coca eradication. Congress is fragmented after the March 8 legislative elections, with Historic Pact winning 25 of 103 Senate seats and 43 of 183 House seats, leaving de la Espriella to govern with a thin mandate and a polarized public. He is scheduled to take office on August 7, and the scale of the protests suggests the real test may begin long before then.