Colombia Heads to Presidential Runoff as Pro-Trump Outsider Leads First Round Over Leftist Rival
BOGOTÁ — Lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella finished first in Colombia’s presidential election Sunday, forcing a June 21 runoff against leftist senator Iván Cepeda in a race that could reshape the country’s political direction and its relationship with Washington.
First-Round Results
With 99.99% of ballots counted, de la Espriella led with more than 10 million votes, or 43.70% of the total. Cepeda followed closely with 9.6 million votes, or 40.93%, according to Colombia’s National Civil Registry.
Neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold required to win outright, triggering a second round. A third candidate, Democratic Centre’s Paloma Valencia, placed a distant third with 6.92% and quickly endorsed de la Espriella, warning supporters against what she called “new communism” in Colombia.
More than 23.6 million Colombians cast ballots. International observers from 22 countries confirmed the vote proceeded normally, despite 386 municipalities having been flagged as security risks due to armed group activity.
Who Is Abelardo de la Espriella?
De la Espriella, 47, is a lawyer and political outsider who was polling at just 1.1% in March 2025 before surging to lead the race by early 2026. Known as “El Tigre” (The Tiger), he has drawn comparisons to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for his embrace of heavy-handed anti-crime tactics.
He has spoken favourably of U.S. President Donald Trump and has promised to resume aerial fumigation of coca crops with glyphosate, as well as target drug-trafficking vessels and aircraft. He has also threatened bombing campaigns against trafficking networks — language reminiscent of Trump’s own statements on the issue.
Addressing supporters in Barranquilla on Sunday night, de la Espriella declared: “We will defend democracy by reason or by force,” and called on the United States to monitor the June 21 runoff closely. Argentine President Javier Milei was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate him on his first-round performance.
Who Is Iván Cepeda?
Senator Iván Cepeda, 63, is a longtime human rights advocate and the standard-bearer of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact coalition. He campaigned on continuing Petro’s signature “total peace” strategy — a policy of negotiating with remaining rebel groups rather than pursuing military confrontation.
Cepeda was a key figure in talks that produced the 2016 peace deal with the now-demobilized FARC guerrilla group. However, the strategy has drawn criticism, including from Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President Juan Manuel Santos, who called its implementation a “failure.”
Cepeda had led public opinion polls throughout the campaign. A May 24 survey by the National Consulting Centre showed him at 33% support compared to de la Espriella’s 30.9% — making Sunday’s tight result a significant shift.
Disputed Preliminary Results
Both Cepeda and outgoing President Petro declined to accept the preliminary results. Petro alleged on social media that vote-counting software had added 800,000 non-existent voters to the count — a claim that electoral authorities had not confirmed at time of publication.
Cepeda said reports of atypical voting patterns at an undetermined number of polling stations warranted scrutiny, while also accusing de la Espriella of being a “crook among crooks and drug traffickers.” Electoral authorities and the Electoral Observation Mission, which deployed 1,207 international observers, stated the vote had proceeded normally.
What Comes Next
The June 21 runoff is shaping up as a sharply polarized contest between two opposing visions for Colombia. With the right-wing expected to consolidate behind de la Espriella following Valencia’s endorsement, Cepeda faces an uphill path to victory.
Colombia’s constitution bars President Petro from seeking re-election, meaning the runoff will determine whether the country continues on a left-wing trajectory or pivots toward the harder-right, pro-Trump model gaining ground elsewhere in Latin America.
The outcome will be closely watched in Washington. Colombia plays a central role in U.S. efforts to combat drug trafficking and manage migration across the hemisphere. A de la Espriella victory would likely produce a rapid improvement in relations with the Trump administration.
