BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella held a razor-thin lead in with nearly all the votes counted Sunday, in a runoff vote marked by people鈥檚 fears of a
A victory by de la Espriella would effectively be an indictment of the policies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, whose prot茅g茅 had promised to continue his agenda if he defeated his rival.
De la Espriella, a business owner and lawyer who earned U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsement despite never having run for office, led progressive lawmaker Iv谩n Cepeda taking 49.7% of the votes, with 99.9% of the results released by electoral authorities. Cepeda, Petro鈥檚 ally, earned 48.7% support. Election officials have not formally announced a winner.
鈥淚 appear before you tonight to announce the most important news of my life: the Colombian people have entrusted me with the supreme honor of serving them as their next president of the Republic of Colombia,鈥� de la Espriella told thousands of supporters as he stood behind bulletproof glass in the northern city of Barranquilla. 鈥淚 will govern for all Colombians 鈥� there will be no retaliation, no persecution, because in a democracy there are no irreconcilable enemies.鈥�
Cepeda told supporters that his campaign considers the count 鈥渦nofficial and non-binding鈥� and that his team will challenge results from more than 30,000 voting stations. No recount has flipped the results of a presidential election in Colombian history.
鈥淲e will not allow … the rollback of the social gains we have achieved,鈥� Cepeda said. 鈥淲e will not allow democracy to be violated.鈥�
Petro also vowed to challenge the outcome.
Both candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from experiencing the nonstop merciless violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.
Sunday’s winner will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.
De la Espriella promises tough-on-crime approach
De la Espriella, 47, promised to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking. He also said he plans to end Petro鈥檚 attempts to establish parallel peace negotiations with multiple armed groups 鈥� an effort that has largely failed 鈥� and build mega-prisons, emulating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s aggressive policies. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.
De la Espriella, nicknamed 鈥淭he Tiger,鈥� holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He’s a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.
鈥淲e have had an armed conflict and a drug trafficking problem for too long, and this has greatly polarized the country,鈥� retired economist V铆ctor Duque, 72, said while wearing a national soccer team jersey at a voting center in the capital, Bogota. 鈥淚 believe it is one of the most important elections that has taken place in Colombia this century.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador were among the first political leaders to congratulate de la Espriella.
鈥淭he Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming administration to advance regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen our economic ties,鈥� Rubio said on X. 鈥淐olombia鈥檚 best days are ahead.鈥�
鈥淗e Won, BIG!鈥� Trump later said on his social media platform.
Voters seek change
In the first round, Cepeda earned 41% of the vote, while de la Espriella garnered 44%, according to official results. Petro, without evidence, sowed doubts in the results after Cepeda, who had consistently led polls ahead of the May vote, did not win outright and even finished behind de la Espriella.
Yolanda Hern谩ndez, 49, voted early Sunday before she started selling black-ink pens outside a Bogota voting center. Clients, she said, buy the pens because ink cannot be erased from paper ballots, which reduces the possibility of fraud.
Hern谩ndez, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022, but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.
鈥淲e want change in Colombia because it鈥檚 always the same violence, always the same thing,鈥� Hern谩ndez said. 鈥�(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.鈥�
People in the streets of Bogota yelled 鈥淧etro out! Petro out!鈥� and honked car horns as results became public.
Fighting between rebel groups plagues the nation
Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Sunday鈥檚 result shows the country 鈥渉as not shifted overwhelmingly or decisively鈥� against Petro鈥檚 project or for de la Espriella鈥檚 outsider 鈥渋ron fist showmanship.鈥� Freeman added that the result also underscored Colombia鈥檚 regional divisions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 regional not just ideological polarization; or rather, the two overlapping,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ronically, de la Espriella鈥檚 iron fist message performed best in the core of the country, not the periphery, which bears the brunt of Colombia鈥檚 violence.鈥�
The election comes 10 years after signed a historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that had offered hope to break the nation鈥檚 vicious cycle of and the government.
But violence has since roared back, particularly as most rebel groups abandoned their ideologically driven fight for the financial benefits of drug trafficking. Colombia鈥檚 illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.
Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015 and driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was . Extortions have also soared, reaching 13,417 cases in 2025, more than double the number tallied in 2015.
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