A far-right politician will become the new president of Colombia. What you need to know

Colombia has held one of the most intense elections in recent years: far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella wins with about 49.66%, beating rival Ivan Cepeda by less than 1%. The victory of the right is connected with the fatigue of society from tax pressure and the deterioration of the security situation. What the request for harsh measures says and how the choice of Colombians will affect the region is in the Izvestia article.

Borderline result

Far-right businessman Abelardo de la Espriella won the second round of the Colombian presidential election on June 21. After processing almost all the ballots, he received 49.66% of the votes. The representative of the ruling leftist coalition "Historical Pact" Ivan Cepeda scored 48.70%, losing about 246 thousand votes. Cepeda did not agree with the results of the vote: his headquarters intends to seek a recount of the results of the ballot boxes.

• On August 7, de la Espriella is expected to take over the post of head of state after President Gustavo Petro, a representative of the left, who was not eligible to run in the elections again. In his program, the winner emphasized the deregulation of the economy and the tough fight against armed groups associated with drug trafficking. Cepeda promoted large-scale social transformations.

• During the election campaign, de la Espriella was supported by US President Donald Trump. After the results were announced, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the politician on the phone and named him the elected President of Colombia. According to Rubio, Washington expects to strengthen cooperation in the field of security, countering illegal migration and developing economic ties.

On October 24, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed personal sanctions against Gustavo Petro, his family members, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti. Washington claimed that the Colombian authorities had not stopped the activities of the drug cartels. After that, Petro organized protests against Trump's policies and sharply criticized US support for Israel. In response, Trump called the Colombian leader a "bandit" and announced the termination of American assistance in the fight against drug trafficking.

Reasons for victory

• De la Espriella's victory was the result of dissatisfaction with the security situation. There are about 198 criminal structures operating in the country. In 2023, the country reached a record level of drug trafficking: 253 thousand hectares of coca crops and about 2.6 thousand tons of drug production, which accounted for about 60% of the global supply. In 2024, the authorities were able to seize only 32.3% of the drugs produced, compared to 47.7% in 2021. Additionally, an increase in the involvement of minors in criminal structures is recorded by almost 20% in 2024.

• After the peace agreement with the FARC radical leftist group signed in 2016, Colombia has enjoyed a decade of relative stability, although some territories remain under the influence of armed groups and drug cartels. De la Espriella promises to stop negotiations with the groups that refused to lay down their arms and conduct a 90-day military operation against them using airstrikes with the support of the United States.

• Many residents have decided that President Gustavo Petro's strategy of negotiating with armed groups has not produced quick results. Against this background, tougher measures by de la Espriella, who also promised to build mega-farms following the example of El Salvador, reduce the state apparatus and support the oil and gas sector, attracted voters.

• In addition, the tax increases for the middle class and the tightening of fiscal policies introduced by the Petro government, along with the halting of the expansion of oil and gas exploration, have become a factor in strengthening the right-wing electorate in Colombia. Additional pressure on household incomes and restrictions in the raw materials sector worsened the perception of the government's economic course and increased the demand for alternative policies.

• However, de la Espriella's victory does not mean the rapid achievement of full political control over the country. The gap between the candidates turned out to be less than one percentage point, and society remains highly polarized. Leftists remain influential in Bogota and a number of major cities. The new president will have to negotiate with Congress, where he does not have a guaranteed majority. The main dispute in the coming years concerns security: whether to continue negotiations with armed groups or rely on military suppression. It was this issue that became central to the elections and largely determined Colombia's return to the right after four years of rule by the country's first leftist president in recent history, Gustavo Petro.

South America's Right Turn

• De la Espriella's victory in Colombia was part of a general political shift in Latin America. In recent years, right—wing and center-right politicians have strengthened their positions: for example, Javier Miley won in Argentina, and Jose Antonio Cast won in Chile.

• This process is related to the next electoral cycle. In the early 2020s, many Latin American countries supported leftist politicians, but some of the public remained dissatisfied with the results of their work. Rising crime, economic difficulties, inflation, and problems with public finances have increased the demand for new management approaches. Therefore, many voters are voting for right-wing candidates today, hoping for more drastic measures.

The harsh policies of the right are yielding results: for example, El Salvador used to be the most dangerous country in the world. Center—right President Nayib Bukele has declared war on street gangs, and the murder rate has dropped 50-fold. A similar situation occurred in Ecuador: right—wing President Daniel Noboa began to cooperate with the United States in the fight against illegal migration and drug trafficking - in particular, the countries began to exchange biometric data of criminals.

Significance for Russia

• During the rule of the right-wing populist Ivan Duque in Colombia from 2018 to 2022, the ties between Moscow and Bogota noticeably weakened. Some of the projects were frozen, and the political background was accompanied by accusations. At the end of 2020, two employees of the Russian diplomatic mission were declared persona non grata, and in 2021, there were allegations of alleged Russian cyber attacks and interference in the internal affairs of the country. The Russian Federation denied these accusations.

• Since Gustavo Petro came to power, the dialogue has become more pragmatic: the president has taken a position in favor of a negotiated settlement of international conflicts and the refusal to transfer military equipment of Soviet and Russian origin to third countries. Humanitarian cooperation has become an important part of the relationship: there was a scholarship program for Colombian citizens, which selected about 150 students. Some of the places were allocated as a "peace quota" for victims of years of internal conflict.

• With de la Espriella's arrival, Colombia is likely to build a policy around internal security and close cooperation with the United States, so diplomatic dialogue with Russia will remain secondary and will take place through international platforms, primarily the United Nations, where the parties are already cooperating on individual resolutions and global security issues. Economic ties may remain unchanged: Russia will continue to supply fertilizers, metals, and industrial products, while Colombia will maintain exports of coffee, fruits, and agricultural products. By the end of 2024, the trade turnover between Russia and Colombia amounted to about $450 million, and it shows stable positive dynamics. So, in 2025, despite the sanctions restrictions, the indicator increased by almost 24% compared to the previous period.

When writing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinions of:

• political scientist Pavel Dubravsky.