Overview
- The runoff pits Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47‑year‑old millionaire outsider backed by President Donald Trump and parts of Colombia’s traditional right, against Ivan Cepeda, a long‑time left‑wing senator allied with outgoing president Gustavo Petro.
- De la Espriella is running on a hardline platform that calls for building large ‘mega‑prisons’ with harsh conditions, bombing drug trafficking camps with US and Israeli support, cutting the state apparatus by about 40 percent, lowering taxes, and expanding fracking.
- His campaign has drawn scrutiny for his past legal work defending ex‑paramilitaries and narcotraffickers, questions over the sudden growth of his wealth, and repeated accusations of misogynistic and homophobic remarks.
- A sharp rise in violence involving guerrillas, cartels and fragmented armed groups has driven security to the top of voters’ concerns and exposed limits of Petro’s ‘total peace’ negotiation strategy after the 2016 FARC accord.
- The outcome could reshape Colombia’s international ties and daily life at home by shifting more power to the military and police, altering US cooperation on counternarcotics, and prompting major cuts to public services that would affect jobs, social programs and environmental protections.