We are tired of the killings in this country.
In a nation long shaped by the tension between negotiation and force, Colombia has chosen a new direction — narrowly, and not without anguish. Abelardo de la Espriella, a Miami-based lawyer with no political past but a Trump endorsement and a tiger's nickname, defeated leftist Iván Cepeda by less than a single percentage point in a June 2026 runoff, signaling a sharp turn away from the outgoing government's peace diplomacy toward military confrontation with armed groups. The result is less a mandate than a mirror — reflecting a country almost perfectly divided between those exhausted by violence and those who fear that the cure may deepen the wound.
- A margin of barely one percentage point has left Colombia without the clarity a fractured nation desperately needs, with the outgoing president alleging software irregularities and the losing candidate refusing to concede.
- Armed groups — FARC dissidents, the ELN, cartels — have doubled in size over five years, cocaine production has hit record highs, and a border offensive last year displaced tens of thousands, creating the crisis of security that propelled de la Espriella to power.
- The president-elect has promised mega-prisons in the jungle, a dismantled peace strategy, and a military-first doctrine backed by Donald Trump, who celebrated the result as a geopolitical victory for his regional influence.
- Clashes erupted in Cali on election night — U.S. flags burned, tear gas deployed — while in Barranquilla supporters danced and chanted, the same country occupying two entirely different emotional realities.
- Colombia now enters a certification process under maximum political tension, with the question no longer just who won, but whether the winner can govern a nation so evenly and bitterly divided.
Colombia's presidential runoff ended in the narrowest of verdicts: Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer and businessman who had never held public office, defeated Iván Cepeda — a close ally of outgoing President Gustavo Petro — by just one percentage point, with more than 99 percent of votes counted. The result has left the country visibly fractured and uncertain about what follows.
De la Espriella, known as "El Tigre," ran on a promise to tear up Petro's "total peace" strategy and replace it with aggressive military action against guerrilla groups, drug cartels, and organized crime. He pledged to build jungle mega-prisons, shrink the state, and overhaul healthcare. His campaign carried an unmistakable echo of Trumpism — some supporters wore hats reading "Make Colombia Great Again" — and Donald Trump's endorsement, along with a promise of "total support and strength," gave the race an explicit geopolitical dimension. De la Espriella has held U.S. citizenship since 2023 after years living in Miami.
The backdrop to his victory is a country in genuine crisis. Membership in armed groups has doubled over five years. Cocaine production has reached record levels. A brutal offensive along the Colombia-Venezuela border last year displaced tens of thousands. Critics of Petro's approach argue that negotiated ceasefires allowed armed organizations to expand their territorial control rather than disarm.
Speaking to a jubilant crowd in his home city of Barranquilla, de la Espriella pledged to govern for all Colombians and declared loyalty to the 1991 constitution. Supporters expressed exhaustion with the violence and hope for jobs and security. But the celebration was not universal. Cepeda declined to concede, calling the count preliminary and non-binding. Petro went further, demanding an audit of voting software and alleging without evidence that polling stations had been compromised.
The fragility of the moment became physical late Sunday when clashes broke out in Cali — demonstrators burning U.S. flags, police responding with tear gas. The incident crystallized what many feared: that a margin this thin, in a country this divided, transforms the act of governing into its own form of conflict management. De la Espriella's rise fits a broader rightward current moving through Latin America, but whether his military-first approach can deliver security — or will simply redraw the lines of violence — remains the question Colombia must now live with.
Colombia's presidential runoff delivered a narrow victory to Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer and businessman with no prior political experience, over Iván Cepeda, a close ally of outgoing President Gustavo Petro. With more than 99 percent of votes counted, de la Espriella secured 49.7 percent to Cepeda's 48.7 percent—a margin so thin it has left the country visibly fractured and bracing for what comes next.
De la Espriella, who has adopted the nickname "El Tigre," campaigned on a promise to dismantle the current government's "total peace" strategy and replace it with an aggressive military crackdown on armed groups, drug cartels, and organized crime. He pledged to build mega-prisons in Colombia's jungle, shrink the state apparatus, and overhaul the health system. The endorsement of Donald Trump—who declared the result a "BIG" win—underscored the geopolitical dimension of the race. De la Espriella has been a U.S. citizen since 2023 after years living and working in Miami, and Trump had promised him "total support and strength" if elected. On the campaign trail, some of de la Espriella's supporters wore hats reading "Make Colombia Great Again," echoing Trump's political brand.
The victory represents a dramatic policy reversal for a nation struggling with escalating violence. Colombia's internal armed conflict, which has simmered for decades, has intensified sharply in recent years. Membership in guerrilla groups and cartels—including FARC dissidents, the ELN, and the Clan del Gulfo—has doubled over the past five years as these organizations battle for control of cocaine trafficking routes and illegal mining sites. Last year alone, a brutal offensive along the Colombia-Venezuela border displaced tens of thousands of people. Cocaine production in the world's largest producing nation has reached record levels. Critics argue that President Petro's emphasis on negotiation and ceasefires allowed armed groups to exploit the pause in hostilities, expanding their territorial control and influence rather than laying down weapons.
De la Espriella addressed a massive crowd of supporters in Barranquilla, the coastal city where he grew up and where he enjoyed significant regional backing. "Tonight marks the beginning of a new story for the nation," he told them, as supporters waved Colombian flags, sang, and danced to music projected alongside his image. "I'm going to govern for all Colombians. For those who voted for me, and for those who chose the other candidate." He pledged loyalty to the country's 1991 constitution. Among the crowd, supporters expressed exhaustion with the status quo. "We are tired of the killings in this country," one woman named Patricia said. "We have a president from the coast!" Another backer added: "We hope he will change the country, to a new one where we can have jobs, and more security above everything."
Yet Cepeda has not conceded, stating that the preliminary count remains "not yet official or binding" and that the verification process must be completed before any result can be recognized. President Petro went further, posting on social media that neither candidate could be proclaimed president based on a "pre-count result" and demanding an audit of voting software. He alleged without evidence that some polling stations were "compromised." The verification process in the first round of voting on May 31 showed little deviation from initial counts, according to Reuters, but the political temperature remains high.
The razor-thin margin has exposed deep divisions within the country. Supporters of Cepeda gathered in the streets of Barranquilla expressing alarm at the outcome. Catalina La Grande, a student and activist who backed Cepeda, told the BBC: "There's a palpable sense of unease in the air. Such a narrow margin also worries us, because it reflects how divided the country is and the enormous challenges we face in defending democracy, peace, and people's rights." Another young Cepeda supporter, Maria, acknowledged the polarization but noted that "there have been no violent incidents in the streets, which is positive considering the level of polarisation we are experiencing."
That relative calm fractured late Sunday when clashes erupted in Cali, Colombia's third-largest city. Demonstrators burned U.S. flags while police deployed tear gas to disperse crowds angry at de la Espriella's victory. The incident underscored fears that the tight result and deep ideological divide could trigger unrest as the country moves toward a formal canvass and certification process. De la Espriella's election reflects a broader rightward shift across Latin America, driven largely by public anxiety over security and crime. Argentina's President Javier Milei and Chile's President José Antonio Kast both praised the outcome, with Kast declaring that "a new stage of freedom begins for Colombia that will allow them to recover security and prosperity." The question now is whether de la Espriella's promised military approach will deliver on that promise—or whether the country's deep polarization will make governing the narrow mandate he has won an exercise in managing conflict as much as confronting it.
Citações Notáveis
Tonight marks the beginning of a new story for the nation, tonight a new era begins, a change of order.— Abelardo de la Espriella, addressing supporters in Barranquilla
Such a narrow margin also worries us, because it reflects how divided the country is and the enormous challenges we face in defending democracy, peace, and people's rights.— Catalina La Grande, student and activist who supported Cepeda
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did such a narrow victory matter so much to people on both sides?
Because it wasn't really about de la Espriella versus Cepeda. It was about two completely different visions of how to handle a country drowning in violence. One side said negotiate, the other said crush it with force. When you win by one percentage point on that kind of choice, half the country feels like you've just rejected their entire worldview.
And de la Espriella—he's not a politician at all?
He's a lawyer and businessman. No electoral experience whatsoever. He's been living in Miami, he became a U.S. citizen just three years ago. Some of his past clients included people tied to Venezuela's government and major Colombian fraudsters, though he says that's just what defense lawyers do.
Trump's involvement seems significant. How much did that actually matter to voters?
It mattered differently depending on who you ask. For de la Espriella's supporters, it signaled that the United States would back a tougher approach to drugs and crime. For critics, it looked like outsourcing Colombian sovereignty to American interests. The fact that some supporters wore "Make Colombia Great Again" hats tells you something about the cultural current he was riding.
What's the actual security situation that drove people to vote for him?
Armed groups have doubled their membership in five years. Cocaine production is at record highs. Last year alone, tens of thousands of people were displaced by fighting along the Venezuela border. The current president tried negotiation and ceasefires, but critics say the armed groups just used the pause to expand their territory and influence. People are exhausted and scared.
So why didn't Cepeda just concede?
Because the margin was so close—less than one percentage point—and because the political stakes feel existential to both sides. Cepeda's camp sees de la Espriella as a dangerous outsider. De la Espriella's camp sees Cepeda as representing a failed approach. When you're that divided and that close, you don't give ground easily.
What happens now?
The official canvass process has to happen. But there's already been violence in the streets—clashes in Cali, flags burning. The country is deeply polarized. De la Espriella has a mandate, but it's the thinnest possible one, and half the country didn't vote for him. That's a governing challenge unlike any other.