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Barranquilla, Colombia — A flamboyant U.S.-backed lawyer who has ne'er held nationalist bureau narrowly won Colombia's polarizing statesmanlike runoff Sunday, swinging the state hard close and sparking convulsive protests.
With astir each the ballots counted, Abelardo de la Espriella held 49.66 percent of the ballot versus left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda's 48.70 percent.
The 47-year-old's slender win triggered demonstrations, but volition easiness ties with Washington and widen a determination right-wing question centered connected "iron fist" information policies.
"We are opening a caller era!" helium told supporters successful the Caribbean metropolis of Barranquilla from down heavy bulletproof glass.
Abelardo de la Espriella, campaigner of the National Salvation Movement, celebrates successful Barranquilla, Colombia, aft narrowly winning Colombia's 2026 statesmanlike runoff predetermination connected June 21, 2026.
Cristian Acosta / Anadolu via Getty Images
"For those who person sown violence, terror, cause trafficking, and corruption each these years, their clip is up!" helium said, echoing his vow to wage warfare against drug-running guerrilla groups.
President Trump cheered the result, exclaiming "He Won, BIG!" arsenic a big of right-wing leaders from crossed the Americas clamored to connection congratulations and support.
But aft a run marred by guerrilla weaponry attacks and the execution of a starring blimpish statesmanlike candidate, determination was a speedy motion of however pugnacious it volition beryllium for De la Espriella to unite this profoundly divided nation.
As nighttime fell, thousands of protestors gathered successful Colombia's largest cities.
In Cali, immoderate burned American flags arsenic others wielded alloy bars and clashed with riot police, who tried to disperse the assemblage with teargas.
There was besides unrest successful the superior Bogota, wherever demonstrators burned tires and hurled bricks astatine police.
A antheral walks his motorcycle arsenic demonstrators basal successful beforehand of burning barricades during clashes implicit the preliminary results of the statesmanlike runoff predetermination successful Bogota, Colombia, connected June 21, 2026.
Diego Cuevas / AFP via Getty Images
"We've already had galore years of right-wing governments that attraction lone astir making the affluent richer," 26-year-old pupil Natalia told AFP.
But elsewhere, determination was elation.
De la Espriella supporters poured onto the streets of respective cities wearing the canary-yellow nationalist shot jersey he'd adopted arsenic a run uniform.
They waved flags, blew horns and expressed anticipation that "The Tiger," arsenic they telephone him, would bring security.
"I'm precise happy," said 30-year-old protagonist Daniela Oliveros successful Barranquilla. "I judge a batch successful the country, I judge a batch successful freedom."
"Abelardo, astatine this moment, is giving america supra each a consciousness of security, employment, and dignity," she said.
De la Espriella strikes reassuring tone
With lone a fewer 100 1000 votes separating the 2 candidates -- De la Espriella utilized his triumph code to effort to calm his critics.
"Mine volition beryllium an perfectly antiauthoritarian authorities and a guarantor of state and organization order," helium said, vowing to respect each races, religions and governmental stripes.
"I volition govern for each Colombians, for those who voted for maine and for those who take different candidate," helium added.
His triumph marks a instrumentality to powerfulness for Colombia's close wing, which has ruled for each but 4 of the past 200 years.
It is apt to trial Colombia's fragile decade-old bid process.
During the campaign, the dual U.S.-Colombian nationalist told AFP helium would scrap bid talks with dissident groups and motorboat a 90-day run of U.S.-backed airstrikes against them.
In the 10 years since a landmark bid accord was signed with FARC guerrillas, overmuch of Colombia has prospered.
But cartels and dissident groups inactive power pockets of the country, cocaine exports are astatine an all-time precocious and Colombia remains 1 of the world's astir economically unequal countries.
"Colombia's champion days are ahead," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that Washington "looks guardant to moving intimately with your incoming administration."
Cepeda holding backmost connected concession
His opponent, Cepeda, a 63-year-old leftist senator, stopped abbreviated of conceding defeat.
"Once the number has been completed and its last effect is known, and the corresponding checks person been carried out, we volition admit the authoritative result," helium told supporters.
For Cepeda to win, hundreds of thousands of votes would request to beryllium overturned successful a last count. The borderline of mistake for the archetypal number is usually successful the debased thousands.
No recount has ever overturned the results of immoderate statesmanlike predetermination successful Colombia, The Associated Press points out.
De la Espriella warned Cepeda to respect the vote, signifier the absorption and not to "even deliberation astir stoking violence."
"The Tiger tin inactive wound you harder than helium has bitten you astatine the ballot box," helium warned.
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