Trump supporter Abelardo de la Espriella wins Colombian election, but election results are being challenged

On Sunday, June 21, the second round of the presidential election was held in Colombia. According to the results of the counting of almost all ballots, the victory is won by the representative of the radical right forces Abelardo de la Espriella.

Bloomberg writes about this.

With 99.9% of ballots counted, de la Espriella is gaining 49.65% of the vote, while his rival Ivan Cepeda is trailing by approximately 246 000 votes, with 48.70%.

The final election results will be known towards the end of the week, but the preliminary vote count has already been challenged by the current Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is an ally of Cepeda.

However, de la Espriella has already been congratulated by Argentine President Javier Milley, who wrote on social media that "freedom is spreading throughout Latin America, and there is no turning back".

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated de la Espriella on her election victory.

"This result reflects the will of the Colombian people and their commitment to democracy," the US State Department said in a statement.

At the same time, the US President Donald Trump promised "full support" for Colombia if de la Espriella wins.

Officially, the winner of the August 7 election will succeed Gustavo Petro, who was unable to run for a second term, as president.

During his election campaign, de la Espriella promised to imprison criminals in "mega-prisons" modeled on El Salvador, bomb the camps of armed groups involved in cocaine trafficking, and reopen the country to oil production.

Meanwhile, in the Colombian capital, Bogota, people fear protests after the election. At a meeting of Cepedaʼs campaign headquarters, his supporters declared that if they had to take to the streets again, they would.

What is known about the winner of the election in Colombia?

De la Espriella is a 47-year-old businessman and lawyer by training, who holds both Colombian and US citizenship. He has gained national fame as a lawyer in some of Colombiaʼs most high-profile cases.

Among his most famous clients was Alex Saab, a businessman and close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was extradited to the United States last month on money laundering charges.

He also defended politicians accused of links to armed groups involved in cocaine trafficking — the very ones he now seeks to imprison.

De la Espriella, who calls himself "The Tiger" (El Tigre), said he entered politics "to prevent the ʼdestructionʼ of Colombia by the left”.

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