On Monday, just hours after the polls closed in Colombia’s presidential runoff election, protests broke out when far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella declared himself the winner once the unofficial preliminary results were announced. The results showed de la Espriella with 49.66% of the vote, and Iván Cepeda, a leftist widely viewed as President Gustavo Petro’s successor, garnered 48.70% of the vote. Immediately, most Colombian leaders called for calm.
“Let us not fall into the trap of violence and let us remain united so that the country does not move backward,” President Petro said on Monday. “Peace is essential today.”
Many of those grievances have been echoed in protests that have spilled onto the streets across Colombia, leading Cepeda to call for peaceful gatherings as well.
“There is anxiety to know the final result. However, as a candidate, I cordially call for serenity and calm,” Cepeda said on Monday. “If there are public expressions in favor of one position or another, these should be carried out as peaceful demonstrations. I call on my supporters and members of the Historic Pact and the Alliance for Life to maintain exemplary behavior,” Cepeda continued. “I also ask the same of those who voted for another candidate.”
The preliminary results showed a tight race and a divided Colombia. Despite Cepeda saying that more than 57,000 challenges had been filed seeking further investigation of the election results, down to the precinct level, he suddenly conceded to de la Espriella on Wednesday in a speech accepting the election results.
“As the candidate of the Historical Pact and for the Alliance for Life, as I announced in due course and at this stage of the scrutiny, I have decided to accept the result that arises from said process and that indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the Republic,” Cepeda said.
While other leaders called for calm, de la Espriella, who received immediate congratulations for his “victory” from the U.S. Department of State and Latin American leaders in Trump’s Shield of the Americas, has not called for peace. After the State Department Office of the Spokesperson issued a statement about unofficial election results, saying, “This result reflects the will of the Colombian people and their commitment to democracy,” de la Espriella seemed emboldened and immediately invoked incendiary and threatening language toward Cepeda, Petro, and supporters of left-wing movements.
Directing statements at Cepeda and Petro, de la Espriella, who is known as “El Tigre” (the Tiger), said, “pack your bags… the tiger bites but he can bite even harder.” When he threatened to extradite Petro to the United States, he highlighted the dangers he poses. His targeting of left-wing groups and the Colombian Congress, telling lawmakers “to understand the gravity of the national moment,” and that “if some sectors of Congress renounce that responsibility and betray the citizens’ mandate, they will find themselves with a government of popular origin,” adds to the threat that de la Espriella poses as president.
For months, de la Espriella pounded his nationalist rhetoric, demonizing his opposition. Under the pretext of his opponents being involved with drug smugglers, he previously said of his opponents, “I will wipe out narcoterrorism and those who I’ve declared a military target, like cockroaches, like rats.” He added, “I will unleash upon them the wrath of God never seen before.”
While Cepeda may have conceded, in his speech, he highlighted that de la Espriella won by just 1% and that progressives still hold much power in Colombia’s legislative process. He asserted that the country would protect democracy and would not accept an authoritarian government.
“The vote shows an extraordinarily narrow difference between the two options vying for the trust of the Colombian people; less than 1% of the votes separate the candidates participating in this contest,” Cepeda said. “This is the highest electoral result ever achieved by progressive sectors and social movements in Colombia. It demonstrates both the magnitude of the national debate we have experienced and the enormous responsibility we all have for the future of the country,” Cepeda continued. “We will not accept the violation of public freedoms, the stigmatization of social movements, or the attempt to treat youth and organized citizens as internal enemies.”
Cepeda was speaking presumably of de la Espriella’s intention to dismantle the accountability systems put in place. The president-elect has said he plans to reduce Colombia’s transitional justice courts by 90% and abolish the National Protection Unit, which is responsible for protecting groups such as activists and unionists. The International Federation for Human Rights and the Foundation for Press Freedom also issued a warning about de la Espriella’s attack on the press.
“Abelardo de la Espriella’s pattern of attacks against the press is evident: public disparagement, accusations of alleged political agendas, judicial harassment of journalists, baseless challenges to editorial independence, and actions aimed at undermining journalism on matters of public interest related to his candidacy,” reads a joint press release about threats to the press in Colombia.
What de la Espriella is proposing for Colombia is akin to what the world is seeing in Ecuador, Honduras, and Bolivia, where the United States is backing government repression through joint operations under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. Considering the level of election meddling by the United States in solely this election, like the many it interfered with in 2025, hope for Colombians lies in the political opposition to stem the harshest policy proposals. But with U.S. military leaders foaming at the mouth to kill alleged smugglers without due process, some things may not be immediately preventable.
The U.S. already has multiple bases in Colombia. With de la Espriella in charge, you can expect the United States to go on full-scale attacks against supposed drug trafficking hubs in more joint operations. Attacks against supposed cartel kingpins, such as the case in Ecuador that turned out to be a dairy farm, where the people targeted in the vicinity are not involved in trafficking, will likely occur with more frequency. Those Ecuadorians are Indigenous leaders, activists, and mostly farmers who oppose Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s policies.
When considering de la Espriella’s rhetoric, these manipulated elections of far-right leaders across Latin America can’t be viewed as a genuine hemispheric shift, but as a forced takeover by U.S.-backed interests. The Trump White House has made no secret of who it helps get elected in Latin America. Trump can’t help but take credit for them and openly admits that the elections were manipulated by endorsements, threats against the voters, and threats against anyone who isn’t a Trump sycophant.
The goal for the United States foreign policy sector is destabilization, which leads to suffering, thus paving the way for dominion. The mission seems to be working as planned.
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