Pro-Trump Abelardo de la Espriella, who promises ‘shock plan’ tops Colombia Presidential election: All we know
The Colombia citizens will on June 21 decide between further peace talks and militarized crackdown after long weeks of a violence-riddled election campaigns.
Abelardo de la Espriella who calls himself ‘The Tiger’ and is publicly pro-Donald Trump has taken a lead in the first round of Colombia Presidential election with 44 per cent votes. He is headed for a runoff with leftist Ivan Cepeda, who is catching up at 41 per cent votes. The Colombia citizens will on June 21 decide between further peace talks and militarized crackdown after long weeks of a violence-riddled election campaigns.
But whoever replaces Gustavo Petro will inherit the challenge of confronting a maze of armed groups engaged in drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion. Who will become Colombia's next leader and what are leading candidates' top agendas? Let's know:
Who will become Colombia's next leader?
Abelardo de la Espriella is a right-wing millionaire lawyer who has vowed to go after the narco gangs with an iron fist. He calls himself ‘The Tiger’ and is a huge fan of US President Donald Trump, Argentina's Javier Milei and El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.
He said he entered politics to help Colombia from getting destroyed.
While Petro has adopted a peaceful strategy to deal with the narco gangs, Espriella says he comes with a “shock plan”. He told AFP during one of his campaigns: “We'll start immediately with the bombing of narco-terrorist camps.”
Before launching his presidential bid, De la Espriella lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, jetted around in private planes and promoted his rum and wine businesses. To deal with drug cartels, Espriella suggests alliance with the United States and Israel. He defends right to carry weapons.
“Any criminal who does not surrender will be taken down as the law allows,” he had said..
Against him is Ivan Cepeda who is seen as somebody to carry on Gustavo Petro's policies to deal with the drug cartels and trafficking groups. While he was leading the opinion polls to become the next Colombia President, the first round of counting shows Abelardo de la Espriella will be giving him a tough contest.
Ivan Cepeda first appeared in public in 1994, in his early 30s, next to the corpse of his father, a communist senator who was assassinated by paramilitaries.
He previously lived in exile in the former Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Cuba and France. After returning to Colombia, he advocated for armed conflict victims and played a key role in the historic 2016 peace accord, which led to the disarmament of the rebel army FARC.
“I have survived genocide, stigmatization and relentless persecution. And here I am, still standing,” he said during the campaign.
(With AFP inputs)
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