Former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing candidate in Colombia’s presidential runoff scheduled for this Sunday, underscoring the election's significance to bilateral relations. Trump declared his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of de la Espriella, asserting that the candidate “will have the total support and strength of the United States behind him.” This intervention by a foreign leader has raised concerns about potential interference in Colombia’s democratic process and national sovereignty.
De la Espriella leads the first round of voting by a margin of 2.8 percentage points over Iván Cepeda, a senator aligned with Colombia’s leftist Historic Pact coalition, currently led by incumbent President Gustavo Petro. Cepeda has pledged to continue Petro’s emphasis on social programs aimed at poverty reduction and income growth. Under Petro’s administration, which runs from 2022 to 2025, the inflation-adjusted minimum wage increased by 39%, while poverty rates dropped substantially—by approximately 23.5%, lifting nearly 4 million people out of poverty. Extreme poverty also declined by 30%, affecting close to 2 million Colombians.
By contrast, de la Espriella has advocated for a sharp reduction of government size by 40% and the elimination of around 70,000 public sector jobs, measures that critics argue could undermine social progress and worsen living conditions.
De la Espriella has aligned himself with the Trump-administration-backed “Alliance of the Shield of the Americas,” a right-wing regional coalition established earlier this year. He has expressed a desire to strengthen ties within this bloc, framing his potential presidency as a partnership grounded in shared “values and principles.” Part of his platform includes reinstating U.S. military bases in Colombia and launching a so-called Plan Colombia 2.0, referencing the previous era of intensive counter-narcotics and counterinsurgency cooperation that was both controversial and violent.
Human rights advocates and analysts highlight de la Espriella’s longstanding ties to Colombia’s paramilitary Self-Defense Forces, historically linked to widespread human rights abuses, including mass killings of civilians. He first gained prominence as a lawyer for this group and has pushed efforts to recast paramilitary members as political actors immune from prosecution. He opposes the 2016 peace accords aimed at resolving Colombia’s decades-long conflict and favors increased military deployment and expanded incarceration measures modeled on policies in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele, another member of the Shield alliance.
Political tensions between the United States and Colombia escalated earlier this year, with President Petro responding defiantly to previous military threats made by Trump. Despite this, Trump, advised in part by Senator Marco Rubio, sought to realign U.S.-Colombian relations under a right-wing leadership sympathetic to his administration’s agenda.
Critics warn that a de la Espriella presidency could destabilize Colombia further, exposing the country to renewed cycles of violence and undermining recent social gains. The endorsement comes amid a broader pattern of aggressive U.S. policies in the region during Trump’s tenure, including controversial designations of armed groups as terrorist organizations, military actions in the Caribbean, and ongoing sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela.
As Colombians prepare to cast their votes, the international community watches closely, concerned about the potential ramifications for democracy, human rights, and regional stability.