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Abelardo De La Espriella, a 48-year-old right-wing attorney holding dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship, assumed the presidency of Colombia on Friday during ceremonies in Cali. Taking the oath at Santiago de Cali University, De La Espriella became the nation’s chief executive despite having never previously won elected office. His campaign, branded around the persona “The Tiger,” centered on a law-and-order platform that sharply contrasted with his predecessor’s governance.
Speaking at the Pichincha Battalion military installation in southern Cali, De La Espriella directly rejected his predecessor’s constitutional ambitions. “I do not believe in assemblies convened to alter the rules of the Republic, prolong the exercise of power, or remake institutions at the whim of those who govern,” he declared in Spanish. Outgoing President Gustavo Petro, notably absent from the event, had sought to convene a constitutional assembly to modify Colombia’s foundational 1991 document.
De La Espriella announced alignment with the Trump administration’s anti-narcotics agenda, pledging to sign the Shield of the Americas, the official name for President Donald Trump’s America’s Counter-Cartel Coalition. The new president signaled that releasing a comprehensive list of narcoterrorist organizations would rank among his initial governmental actions. University of the Andes political scientist Sandra Borda noted that public perception holds the previous administration responsible for criminal expansion through negotiation strategies.
Fiscal reform emerged as another centerpiece of De La Espriella’s agenda, with Borda characterizing the administration’s commitment as bringing order to destabilized public finances. His inaugural ceremony drew a prominent international contingent including Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Spain’s King Felipe VI, Argentine President Javier Milei, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Chilean President José Antonio Kast, Dominican President Luis Abinader, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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