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Colombian right-wing candidate wins narrow presidential victory
Abelardo De La Espriella edges out leftist rival Ivan Cepeda in Sunday's election with 49.66% of the vote, vowing a sharp shift toward Washington and Jerusalem after four years of leftist rule

Right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella has clinched a narrow victory in Sunday's Colombian presidential election. De La Espriella secured 49.66% of the vote to leftist senator Ivan Cepeda's 48.70%, according to the national registrar's initial tally of nearly 100% of ballots. De La Espriella, a 47-year-old lawyer and businessman endorsed by US President Donald Trump, ran on a hardline platform pledging a crackdown on crime, an end to peace talks with armed groups, and a reversal of President Gustavo Petro's break with Israel.
De La Espriella has vowed to restore diplomatic ties with Israel and open a Colombian embassy in Jerusalem, reversing Petro's split from the Jewish state after accusing it of "genocide" in Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar congratulated DE La Espriella on his "impressive victory," stating Israel looks forward to revitalizing relations and inviting him to visit. During a meeting with Sa’ar last November, De La Espriella said: "A strategic alliance with the State of Israel and the US government will not only make us stronger, but will place us on the right side of history."
https://x.com/i/web/status/2068892559426945237
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The president-elect has promised to boost Colombia's oil and gas sector, lower taxes, and reduce the state's size by up to 40%, while pledging to preserve Petro's 23 percent minimum wage increase and other popular social programs. He has also vowed an uncompromising campaign against drug traffickers and guerrillas, including bombing militant camps and spraying drug crops with support from Washington and Jerusalem.
However, if the closeness of the race is any indication, with less than one percentage point having separated the two candidates, De La Espriella may be forced to dilute some of his proposals to get support from a divided Congress.
Outgoing President Gustavo Petro claimed that Israel had rigged the election, alleging software vulnerabilities in Colombia's voting system were exploited. "The only entity in the world capable of doing that is the State of Israel," Petro wrote on X, demanding a recount of all polling stations and a study of electoral software vulnerabilities.
Election officials have stated a final ballot-by-ballot verification, overseen by notaries and judges, was nearing completion late Sunday and is required under Colombian law.
More than 26.3 million Colombians cast ballots out of 41.4 million eligible voters. De La Espriella's victory signals a rightward regional shift, following similar turns in Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador, as Latin American voters increasingly back conservative candidates amid concerns over crime and economic weakness.
