Colombia’s pro-Donald Trump outsider Abelardo de la Espriella won the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, setting up a runoff later this month against left-leaning senator Iván Cepeda. With neither candidate reaching 50 percent, the second vote
When the first round results landed on Sunday, they did something few Colombians expected: they handed the lead to a political outsider who has tried to build his campaign around a close alignment with Donald Trump.
Abelardo de la Espriella. a lawyer who has never held public office in Colombia. won the first round of the country’s presidential election. He will now face left-leaning senator Iván Cepeda in a runoff later this month after the two topped the field but failed to clear the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright.
De la Espriella took nearly 44 percent of the vote, while Cepeda finished just under 41 percent. Because neither candidate reached 50 percent, the runoff election will be held on June 21.
Cepeda’s political foundation is closely tied to President Gustavo Petro. a leftist who has backed him and has regularly clashed with Trump on social media. The friction has not been abstract. It has included disputes over the U.S. administration’s controversial strike campaign on alleged drug boats—an effort that has killed more than 200 people. according to the reporting described in the results.
De la Espriella, by contrast, has positioned himself as a supporter of Trump and has taken cues from other right-wing leaders across the region. He has aligned with Argentina’s Javier Milei and with Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.
The runoff now pulls these two visions into direct collision: Cepeda, carrying Petro’s left-leaning coalition into a second round, and de la Espriella, attempting to turn an outsider bid into a governing mandate—powered by a pro-Trump message and a promise of regional right-wing alignment.
Colombia election Abelardo de la Espriella Iván Cepeda Gustavo Petro Donald Trump June 21 runoff Javier Milei Nayib Bukele U.S. strikes drug boats