Abelardo de la Espriella, a Trump-backed billionaire, has been declared the winner of Colombia's presidential election.

Abelardo de la Espriella outside the Conservative, a million dollar political neophyte, he will be the next president of Colombia after election authorities on Wednesday announced that he had won Sunday's election.

The businessman and lawyer, whose businesses include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, have received the endorsement of President Trump despite never running for office. He defeated incumbent Justice Iván Cepeda by one point, or more than 251,000 votes.

The result was a lawsuit against the outlet The government of President Gustavo Petropolicies that Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely unsuccessful attempt to establish dialogue with several armed groups.

The study found that Petro's policy of trying to negotiate peace resulted in increasing the power and membership of armed gangs. Cepeda participated and continued throughout the campaign to promote negotiations with guerrillas and cartels.

The issue is especially prominent among low-income families living near coca plantations, the shrub used to make cocaine, as human rights groups have documented more than 50 massacres in Colombia this year.

Electoral authorities published all but half of the vote count after polling hours closed on Sunday. Petro and Cepeda did not accept those results, and said that they would wait for a recount to do so. Authorities completed the recount before announcing de la Espriella's victory.

Victory of De la Espriella added Colombia in a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders to seek solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.

Same as Mr. Trump, de la Espriella was considered a political outsider. He got into many conflicts that many considered disrespectful, especially with female journalists, during the campaign. He was also known for using pyrotechnics during his campaign events

The self-proclaimed “unprecedented” representative has promised voters fearing renewed internal conflict to take a hard line against violent crime with tactics borrowed from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's playbook, including building massive prisons. Those tactics have reduced the rate of killings in the Central American country but fueled allegations of human rights abuses.

De la Espriella during the campaign proposed to build 10 maximum security prisons that were promoted CECOT model for El Salvador. De la Espriella thought that the prisoners were imprisoned “ten stories underground,” living on “bread and water.” He also agreed with Bukele's reasons for reducing due process, saying that the left cares more about the rights of criminals than their victims. He also promised to resume the suspended airlift of coca plantations with glyphosate and the downing and sinking of small planes. drug boats.

Earlier on Wednesday, Cepeda accepted the election of Colombian president de la Espriella and accepted the Senate seat reserved for the runner-up in the presidential election.

“We take with calmness, commitment and full determination – and let there be no doubt about it – the role that the circumstances require of us,” said Cepeda in his speech to the nation. “We will oppose democracy, which is vigilant and constructive.”

De la Espriella, 47, will begin a four-year term on August 7.

In a statement on Wednesday, his campaign said the purpose of the president-elect “is to work for the unity of the nation, by the people and for the people. The campaign also said his government will commit to guaranteeing “the right to political opposition and peaceful protests, under the framework of the Constitution, the law and respect for democratic institutions.”

The day before, de la Espriella announced that he was reorganizing his Cabinet. He also said he plans to add Colombia to Trump's so-called “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of countries that are said to be aiming to eliminate criminal gangs in Latin America.

Historically, Colombia has been the United States' leading counternarcotics partner and the most important trade partner in the Western Hemisphere. But US-Colombia relations have worsened under Petro. In 2025, Mr. Trump officially declared that Colombia had “clearly failed” in its commitment to the fight against drugs and threatened military strikes in the country.

The State Department revoked Petro's US visa and the Treasury Department personally approved him. The tension between Mr. Trump and Petro got down to business after the two met at the White House in February, when Mr.

However, Mr. Trump gave de la Espriella “Full and Complete Authorization,” and warned that “The results of this election are very important for the future of Colombia and its relations with the United States,” which made Petro accuse the president of interfering in his country's elections.

Petro told CBS News earlier this month that the disagreement between his administration and the White House “is because we are progressive, because we are on the left, and because we disagree on issues like Gaza.”

More than 26 million people voted in this event, setting a record. Of those, more than 426,000 people chose the third, anonymous option on the ballot that allows voters to express their dislike for both candidates. About 29,000 people voted blank.