The president of the United States, Donald Trump, made public this Tuesday his support for the right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella ahead of the second round of the Colombian presidential elections.

Through a publication in Truth Social, Trump congratulated De la Espriella for having obtained the majority of votes in the first round, in which he obtained 43.74% of the votes, compared to 40.90% for the leftist candidate Iván Cepeda.

Both will face each other in the runoff on June 21.

“As president, Abelardo would be tremendously successful in leading Colombia to grow the economy, create jobs, promote trade, stop illegal immigration, crack down on crime and drugs, and restore law and order,” Trump wrote.

Without naming him, he described Cepeda as “a radical left Marxist” and said the election result will be “very important” for Colombia-U.S. relations.

“Because of his enormous achievements in life and his political support for me personally, it is my honor to give Abelardo my full and complete endorsement,” Trump added.

In response, De la Espriella said he was grateful for the support of the US president, with whom he said they will jointly combat drug trafficking and strengthen trade.

“We are going to make a deal with the US government and with President Trump like Colombia has never had before with another US government,” the candidate said in a video he shared on X.

The candidate, who calls himself “El Tigre,” has repeatedly expressed his affinity for the policies of Trump and other right-wing leaders in Latin America and the world.

In fact, during the campaign he traveled to the US to meet with Republican congressmen and the US Undersecretary of State, Christopher Landau.

Petro's rejection

After learning of Trumo's support for De la Espriella, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said that it was a foreign intervention.

"When a country intervenes in the decisions of another country, freedom dies. I invite all of Colombia to vote in full freedom and not become slaves or anyone's colony," he wrote in X.

“If the heart of the world loses its freedom and sovereignty, the hope of the world and of Colombia goes out,” he added.

Petro is a political ally of Cépeda, whom he has supported during the campaign.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has already expressed his open support for right-wing candidates and parties in different elections held in Latin America.

This is what he did in Argentina by supporting Javier Milei's party in the Congressional elections; in Chile by giving its support to the current president, José Antonio Kast; with Nasry Asfura for the presidency of Honduras; and more recently with the candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro for the presidency of Brazil.

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