Abelardo de la Espriella, right-wing millionaire backed by Trump, declared winner of Colombia's presidential runoff election
Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire political neophyte, will be Colombia's next president after electoral authorities on Wednesday declared him the winner of Sunday's runoff election.
TL;DR
- Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative outsider and millionaire, has won Colombia's presidential runoff election.
- He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point.
- De la Espriella, who received President Trump's endorsement, plans to adopt strategies similar to those of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, including building mega-prisons.
- His platform includes resuming aerial fumigation of coca fields and cracking down on drug trafficking.
- The election result is viewed as an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro's government and its peace negotiation policies.
- Iván Cepeda has conceded and accepted a Senate seat.
- De la Espriella's government aims for national unity and guarantees the right to political opposition.
- Colombia's historically strong relationship with the U.S. had deteriorated under Petro.