A legislative candidate is on the rise as Colombians prepare for a presidential vote
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A hard-line, law-and-order figure who promises to dismantle drug cartels and reshape Colombia’s security doctrine is gaining ground with voters as Colombians vote in Sunday’s presidential election.
As the world’s largest producer of cocaine and a long-standing security partner of the US, Colombia’s internal policies directly affect drug flows, migration potential and regional stability.
Analysts believe that a change in Bogotá’s leadership could reshape cooperation with Washington on drug interdiction, intelligence sharing and counter-cartel operations – issues that remain central to US domestic and foreign policy.
Abelardo De La Espriella, a businessman and successful defense lawyer, has emerged as a right-wing figure with a platform focused on aggressive drug use, institutional reforms and a decisive break with current leftist President Gustavo Petro’s approach based on negotiations with armed rebel groups.
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A supporter of Colombia’s presidential candidate for the Defensores de la Patria party, Abelardo de la Espriella, takes a selfie as he waits to arrive at his final campaign rally in Barranquilla, Colombia, May 23, 2026. Colombia will hold presidential elections on May 31. (Vanessa Romero/AFP via Getty Images)
The 47-year-old suspect, nicknamed ‘The Tiger,’ recently told the Associated Press, “The only peace process I believe in is the one imposed by force of arms and the laws of the republic. Under my government, any dissident gangster will be duly removed, and if he agrees, we will lock him up in a large prison so he can pay his justice debt.”
His rise reflects a regional pattern seen with leaders such as Javier Milei, Nayib Bukele and the figures of José Antonio Kast who built political momentum on initial security measures and voter frustration with crime and economic stagnation.
According to the Associated Press, polls say De La Espriella is likely to face leftist Iván Cepeda, from the same party as President Gustavo Petro, and center-right Paloma Valencia. There are 14 candidates.
Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, of the Defensores de la Patria party, speaks behind bulletproof glass during his closing campaign rally in Medellin, Colombia on May 24, 2026. Colombia will hold presidential elections on May 31. (Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP Via Getty Images)
Valencia’s campaign is supported by most of the nation’s traditional groups and economists who are concerned about the rising level of debt under Petro’s administration and want Colombia to return to more orthodox policies, the Associated Press reported.
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Valencia told Fox News Digital, “As the president of Colombia, we will restore a strategic, close, and reliable relationship with the United States, based on mutual respect and the protection of our national interests. We will strengthen cooperation in security, intelligence, military training, and the fight against international crime; areas where the alliance between our two countries has been important in ensuring that Colombia will play a strong role in ensuring the stability of Colombia. in the Americas and participate in regional leadership in defense and safety.
He added, “The United States will continue to be an important partner in economic growth, investment, and job creation, and an important partner for the millions of Colombians who live there. Colombia will also stand by the United States in protecting freedom and democracy around the world, support efforts to restore freedom to Cuba and help Venezuela return to the path of democracy. Our relationship, our cooperation, our cooperation will be defined by Colombia’s pursuit of its benefits.”
Paloma Valencia, presidential candidate of the Democratic Center party, during the Gran Consulta Por Colombia election night rally in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. Senator Paloma Valencia is now among the favorites to become the next president of Colombia after her landslide victory in Sunday’s primaries. (Nathalia Angarita/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Critics say the left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda, represents a possible continuation of Petro’s conservative policies. Cepeda supports dialogue with armed groups, the transformation of rural areas and the transformation of Colombia’s traditional security framework, with a strong emphasis on public investment.
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Camilo Guzmán, the executive director of Libertank, told Fox News Digital that Sunday’s election could lead to a conflict between Cepeda and De La Espriella. “Abelardo got that ticket by reading the room better than anyone else in the opposition. He provided catharsis, speaking directly to Colombian voters who are angry with the political class and the establishment.
“When the center-right senator Paloma Valencia gives the ability and continuation of the tradition of Uribe, he said, the message of De La Espriella “is built on security,” added Guzman. “To end Petro’s policy of ‘total peace’ that emboldened the terrorists and gangs, following drug trafficking using the full power of Washington using the full power of Washington, and the return-updance. demolition.“
Analysts say the US outcome has important strategic weight. De La Espriella’s administration may be closely aligned with Washington’s anti-narcotics priorities, possibly strengthening bilateral cooperation at a time when the flow of synthetic drugs and organized crime networks is expanding throughout the world.
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Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda, of the Pacto Historico party, speaks to supporters during his last campaign rally in Barranquilla, Atlantico department, Colombia on May 24, 2026. (Vanessa Romero/AFP via Getty Images)
Beyond bilateral relations, the election is being watched as a potential hot spot in Latin America. A win for De La Espriella or Valencia will strengthen the momentum of a security-oriented leadership seen in some parts of the region, while Cepeda’s presidency will show the continuation of Petro’s policies.
José Manuel Restrepo, the vice presidential candidate on the ticket with De La Espriella spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital. “The relationship between Colombia and the United States needs to be restored and rebuilt, and this starts with a strong security policy against drug trafficking. It will be more important than the current deteriorating relationship, where we have lost the historic bilateral, bicameral, bipartisan, and multi-sectoral relationship with our main trade and investment partner.”
Jose Manuel Restrepo, former finance minister of Colombia and vice president of the Homeland party defenders, during a campaign in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (Nathalia Angarita/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He continued, “To strengthen, we must seize the opportunity for Colombia to be the best partner of the United States in the restoration of democracy in Venezuela. Using this relationship with the United States, we can play a major role in investing in food, hygiene products and basic needs from Colombia to Venezuela. This will give a new direction to the new relationship with the United States, to create a new relationship with the United States, to create a new relationship with the United States … strengthened and renewed.
Guzman noted that “De La Espriella’s anti-establishment stance is not a liberal agenda. His economic system depends on price controls, interest subsidies, and import substitution, closer to the old school of Latin America than Bukele’s opportunity to support investment, and a world away from Milei’s new market economic system that comes with the new Weather market economic system. The border is an open question.”
Supporters of Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda, of the Pacto Historico party, attend a campaign rally at Plaza Bolivar in Bogota on May 22, 2026. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
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The analyst, businessman and son of former president Jerónimo Uribe said this could not be clearer in Sunday’s presidential race. “Colombia’s election is not between left and right. It is between a communist model supported by drug traffickers and a model that protects democracy and freedom,” he told Fox News Digital.
Representatives for Cepeda did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
