Trump congratulates Colombia presidential candidate
Trump congratulated Abelardo De La Espriella, widely known as “El Tigre,” after an early count showed him narrowly ahead. Although the race had not yet been formally called at that stage, the slim advantage pointed to a possible shift to the right in Colombia. (Reuters.)
Progressive contender Iván Cepeda conceded Colombia’s presidential election on Wednesday to conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, who received the backing of President Donald Trump.
Cepeda’s concession followed several days of uncertainty after he initially declined to accept defeat when preliminary tallies placed de la Espriella in the lead.
“At this stage of the vote count, I have decided to accept the result emerging from that process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new President of the Republic,” Cepeda said in a national address.
“I do so as an act of democratic responsibility,” he added.
Colombia’s right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, of the Defensores de la Patria movement, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Palmira, near Cali, Colombia, on May 14, 2026. Colombia was scheduled to hold its presidential election on May 31. (Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP via Getty Images)
De la Espriella, a businessman and attorney making his first run for public office, defeated Sen. Iván Cepeda by one percentage point in an exceptionally tight contest, officials said. He is known among supporters by the nickname “El Tigre.”
“The vote count shows an extraordinarily narrow margin between the two options vying for the trust of the Colombian people,” he said. “Less than 1% of the vote separates the candidacies that participated in this contest.”
Despite his concession, Cepeda made serious allegations that de la Espriella’s victory was influenced by “foreign interference” by the United States and the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate voters.
“During this process, we denounced the open and improper foreign interference in Colombia’s internal affairs—particularly the interventions by the United States government, and specifically the interventions by President Donald Trump in support of Abelardo de la Espriella’s candidacy,” he said.
READ MORE: Today Show Insider Exposes Brutal Behind-the-Scenes Verdict on Al Roker
He further accused the opposing campaign of widespread vote-buying and unethical tactics that he said undermined the legitimacy of the election results.
ANTI-CARTEL HARDLINER CHANNELS TRUMP IN BID TO END COLOMBIA’S LEFTIST ERA IN PIVOTAL ELECTION
Ivan Cepeda speaks during a campaign rally in Cali, Colombia, on June 6, 2026. The leftist candidate is set to face conservative attorney Abelardo De La Espriella in Colombia’s June 21 presidential runoff election. (AFP via Getty Images)
President-elect de la Espriella will begin his four-year term in August.
“Starting August 7, we will work with determination to consolidate a common agenda that strengthens the security, freedom, and prosperity of our nations,” de la Espriella in a post on X.
The result will effectively end outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s leftist influence on the state and the policies Cepeda had pledged to continue if he won the election.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, left, and President Donald Trump are shown in separate photographs. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images; Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A core pillar of Petro’s signature agenda was his “total peace” strategy, aimed at opening negotiations with remaining guerrilla forces, drug cartels, and armed paramilitary groups in an effort to end Colombia’s decades long internal conflict.
In contrast, de la Espriella has pledged a more hardline approach, including a militarized crackdown on criminal organizations, proposals to build mega-prisons, expand fossil fuel fracking, and revive the controversial practice of aerial glyphosate spraying to eradicate coca crops.
The president-elect, who holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship, has also said he plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” a proposed coalition aimed at coordinating efforts against criminal groups in Latin America.
