Who Is Abelardo De La Espriella? Colombia's New President-Elect
He won 49.66% in the runoff after campaigning on a 40% smaller state, tougher security measures and expanded oil production.
- On Sunday, Colombia elected nationalist lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella as president, with the candidate securing 49.66% of the vote against leftist senator Ivan Cepeda's 48.7% in a tight runoff.
- Nicknamed "The Tiger" by his followers, De La Espriella built his anti-establishment movement, "Defenders of the Homeland," in less than a year, positioning himself as a savior for a country rattled by illegal armed groups.
- Denying comparisons to El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, the president-elect proposed 10 mega-prisons while facing scrutiny over his sprawling business empire and past legal representation of Alex Saab, who faces money laundering charges.
- Seeking to address economic woes, De La Espriella plans to reduce the size of the state by 40% and restart oil exploration, aiming to nearly double production to 1.3 million barrels per day.
- Set to assume the presidency on August 7, the president-elect faces the challenge of reducing organized crime, having gained crucial support from former president Alvaro Uribe as an alternative to the continuation of "petrismo.
57 Articles
57 Articles
The victory of the conservative candidate backed by Trump at the presidential elections in Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, is of a monumental weight. In addition to an epic feat. Iván Cepeda, the candidate of the left, anointed by the current president Gustavo Petro—a former extremist guerrilla—had important links with organized crime groups. It could be said that Cepeda was not only the candidate of the political left in Colombia, but also …
BOGOTÁ (AP) — The conservative Abelardo de la Espriella managed to be the most voted in the second presidential round of Colombia with his image of outsider outside the traditional parties, a trend that opened way in Latin America in recent years.
Abelardo de la Espriella has just won the second round of the 21st of June and has always boasted of his close ties with the American head of state.After Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and probably Peru, Colombia is the very last Latin American country to tip to the far right under the auspices and undisclosed interference of Donald Trump. The ultra-right candidate, Abelardo De la Espriella, won the second round of the 21st of June with less than a p…
Espriella likely winner in Colombian runoff, but results still contested
Based on the initial ballot count, Colombians have a new president. But the result is contested.The deeply polarized country appears to have elected political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella by less than one percent of the runoff vote.De la Espriella, a lawyer endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, campaigned on law and order at a time when many Colombians feared the resurgence of civil armed conflict.CGTN's Michelle Begue has more from Bogo…
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- 48% of the sources lean Right
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