Rightist leaders from across the Americas congratulated Colombia’s hard-right president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella on Sunday after he defeated his leftist rival in a razor-tight vote.<\/p>\n
With almost all the votes counted, De la Espriella held 49.66 percent of the ballots versus Senator Iv\u00e1n Cepeda’s 48.70 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old’s victory is set to improve strained relations with Washington and extends a wave of rightist candidates who have swept to power across Latin America promising \u00abiron fist\u00bb security policies.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump expressed \u00abhis support\u00bb for De la Espriella after celebrating his victory in a phone call, the president-elect said.<\/p>\n
Trump later said in a post on Truth Social that \u00abHe Won, BIG!\u00bb<\/p>\n
Argentina’s\u00a0President Javier Milei was one of the first to congratulate De la Espriella, who calls himself \u00abThe Tiger.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abThe majority of Colombians have chosen the path of economic freedom, prosperity, and relentless security,\u00bb said Milei, who nicknamed himself\u00a0\u00abThe Lion.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abFreedom is advancing throughout Latin America and there is no turning back. LONG LIVE FREEDOM… THE LION AND THE TIGER ROAR IN LATIN AMERICA,\u00bb he said on X.<\/p>\n
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said: \u00abColombia chose order over impunity.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abWe share the conviction that our region deserves security, progress, and governments that confront crime without excuses,\u00bb he said on X.<\/p>\n
Noboa has criticised outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s stance on crime, accusing him of failing to crack down on drug-trafficking and illegal mining along their shared border.<\/p>\n
Chile’s President Jos\u00e9\u00a0Antonio Kast also congratulated De la Espriella \u00abfor his great electoral victory,\u00bb while Panamanian President Jos\u00e9\u00a0Ra\u00fal Mulino wished him \u00abthe greatest success.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mar\u00eda Corina Machado said she expected good relations with Colombia.<\/p>\n
\u00abWe know we will have a great ally in Venezuela’s democratic transition and that together, we will achieve prosperity and security for our people,\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Peru’s leader Keiko Fujimori said \u00abnew winds are blowing for Latin America.\u00bb\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fujimori is ahead of leftist Roberto S\u00e1nchez in Peru’s presidential leadership contest with almost all the votes counted in its run-off vote earlier this month.<\/p>\n
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‘Tiger’ takes charge<\/strong><\/p>\n De la Espriella has long cast himself as an outsider \u2013\u00a0and now, as Colombia’s new president, the self-styled \u00abTiger\u00bb has turned that persona into political power.<\/p>\n A millionaire lawyer with a taste for spectacle, De la Espriella rode a campaign of anger and fear over insecurity to victory, promising to restore order with an iron hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n At 47, and in his first run for office, he has vaulted from celebrity attorney and businessman to the country’s top job.<\/p>\n Before politics, De la Espriella built a lucrative career defending clients ranging from drug-trafficking paramilitaries to fraudsters and football stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n He lived for a time in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, travelled by private jet and promoted his rum, wine and fashion brand \u2013\u00a0\u00abDe la Espriella Style.\u00bb<\/p>\n He brought that flair, and a taste for provocation, into public life.<\/p>\n During the campaign, he leaned heavily into his nickname, sharing AI-generated images of himself as a fanged tiger and presenting himself as the only candidate willing to wage an uncompromising fight against crime and insurgency.<\/p>\n \u00abI have the balls to restore order,\u00bb he said repeatedly.\u00a0\u00a0The message resonated in a country weary of rising insecurity.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ‘All-out war’ on armed groups<\/strong><\/p>\n Backed by US President Donald Trump and endorsed by former Colombian president and conservative kingmaker \u00c1lvaro Uribe, De la Espriella promised a sharp break with the outgoing leftist government.<\/p>\n He has vowed an \u00aball-out war\u00bb on armed groups, promised to build mega-prisons, forge closer ties with Washington and Israel, and wants a drastic reduction in the size of the state.<\/p>\n \u00abPeople who have created wealth during their lives should run the country,\u00bb he told AFP unapologetically.\u00a0<\/p>\n His rhetoric has often been incendiary. He once called for the Colombian left to be \u00abgutted,\u00bb a comment he later withdrew.<\/p>\n His campaign was also briefly tripped up by court rulings banning his use of national symbols like Colombia’s football jersey \u2013\u00a0decisions that were later overturned.<\/p>\n At rallies and online, De la Espriella cultivated an image of defiance \u2013\u00a0sometimes in tailored suits, sometimes in a bulletproof vest after reporting death threats \u2013\u00a0railing against what he describes as the failed political establishment.<\/p>\n His agenda now promises a dramatic shift from four years of leftist rule.<\/p>\n He has leaned into a more conservative cultural message. Once openly atheist, De la Espriella now says he lives by \u00abJudeo-Christian principles\u00bb and calls for a \u00abcultural counterrevolution\u00bb to return the country \u00abto God.\u00bb<\/p>\n Supporters see a decisive leader prepared to confront Colombia’s entrenched violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics warn that his confrontational style \u2013\u00a0and admiration for figures such as Trump, Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele \u2013\u00a0could deepen divisions in a country where past polarisation has brought bloodshed.<\/p>\n Even his personal stories have stirred controversy. In one interview, he recalled tying fireworks to cats as a child, later insisting he was joking.<\/p>\n His hot temper, penchant for swearing and frequent references to his own genitals have done nothing to dent his popularity.<\/p>\n For his base, those rough edges are in fact part of the appeal.<\/p>\n From a childhood he describes as carefree, \u00abin the style of Tom Sawyer,\u00bb to a jet-set legal career and now the presidency, De la Espriella has built a narrative of success and self-reliance \u2013 one he argues Colombia should follow.<\/p>\n Now, the \u00abTiger\u00bb faces the challenge of governing a country as divided as the campaign that brought him to power.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 TIMES\/AFP<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nrelated news<\/h6>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n