Colombia's conservative president Abelardo De La Espriella took office in Cali on August 7 in the first presidential inauguration outside Bogotá in modern Colombian history; outgoing president Gustavo Petro did not attend, a break with tradition; Spain's King Felipe VI, Argentina's Javier Milei and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were among those present; De La Espriella pledged to govern from the regions under the banner of the 'Patria Milagro'

Colombia's president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella was in Cali on August 5, two days before his August 7 inauguration, with 11,100 military and police personnel deployed for the ceremony; an invitation controversy stirred political tension, with former president Álvaro Uribe's attendance unconfirmed; outgoing vice president Francia Márquez closed her chapter at the vice-presidency after a contentious four-year tenure under Gustavo Petro

A truck packed with explosives detonated on August 1 next to a police station in Cúcuta, Colombia's border city near Venezuela, injuring at least 15 people including 12 police officers and 3 civilians; Colombian authorities attributed the attack to the ELN guerrilla group and the Defense Ministry offered a reward for information on those responsible; the UN Human Rights office condemned the attack and called for accountability; the blast came six days before president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella's inauguration on August 7

Oscar Bula, a former Colombian diplomat with UN experience, was confirmed as chancellor designate on July 28 as president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella's formal handover process with the Petro government continued; Cali, the site of the August 7 inauguration at the USC Arena, bolstered its military presence for the ceremony, a politically notable choice as the city is a stronghold of the outgoing leftist coalition

Abelardo de la Espriella, Colombia's president-elect ahead of his August 7 inauguration, announced on July 26-27 that he will not work from the presidential palace Casa de Nariño in Bogotá, describing it as a future museum, and said he will close a number of embassies; his inauguration ceremony is planned for Cali rather than the traditional Bogotá location

A new US tariff on Colombian imports is exposing about 30% of Colombia's total US exports to higher costs, with flowers bearing the largest hit at nearly US$1.9 billion in annual shipments; Colombian flower growers and the incoming agriculture ministry are preparing support plans as the export sector warns of lost competitiveness

Colombia's Chamber of Representatives started public hearings on July 27 with ten finalist candidates for the post of Comptroller General of Colombia, the country's top public accounts watchdog; Congress is scheduled to vote on August 12 to select the next comptroller, who oversees more than US$90 billion in annual public spending

Colombia's incoming president Abelardo De la Espriella announced on July 22-23 that he will push a constitutional reform to designate Barranquilla as an alternate capital of Colombia, framing the proposal as an end to 'centralist abandonment' of coastal regions

Colombia's Senate approved on July 22, 2026, by 55 votes to 32, that president-elect Abelardo De la Espriella will be inaugurated on August 7 in the Cauca department rather than in Bogotá, his first congressional victory of the new legislative term; the Chamber of Representatives must also vote to confirm the transfer, and the new Congress opened with tension over a contested comptroller election

Colombia's House of Representatives began on July 27 interviewing the ten finalists for Contralor General, the head of Colombia's supreme audit institution responsible for overseeing public spending; the full Congress will hold a binding vote on August 12, making this the first major appointment of the new congressional session

Gustavo Petro used the installation ceremony of the 2026-2030 Colombian Congress on July 20 to deliver a sweeping defense of his four-year left-wing government, insisting poverty and inequality fell under his watch and signalling he intends to remain in politics after leaving office

Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro, speaking at a supporters' rally in Bogotá on Colombia's Independence Day (July 20), called for an 'indefinite general strike' if president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella rolls back his government's labor, pension, and health reforms; De la Espriella had announced he would review the reforms after his inauguration

Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressed the July 20 Independence Day military parade in Santa Marta on his last day as a serving head of state, invoking the 1810 popular uprising as a model for democratic change; Petro ends his term as Colombia's first left-wing president

Abelardo De la Espriella gave his first major policy address on July 20, Colombia's Independence Day, pledging to restore aerial fumigation of coca crops and aerial bombardments halted under Gustavo Petro; Colombia's new Congress for the 2026-2030 legislative term was sworn in the same day with a majority coalition backing De la Espriella's agenda

Colombia's presidential transition (empalme) deteriorated sharply ahead of the August 7 inauguration: outgoing President Gustavo Petro's government filed a criminal complaint against incoming president-elect officials and suspended joint handover sessions, while Petro separately accused an Israeli technology firm of interfering in the June election; the incoming government faces a 2026 budget that is 93.7 percent committed, leaving little room for new spending

OFAC designated 8 individuals and entities on both the RSF and SAF procurement sides, including a Colombian retired officer and his wife running firms that sent former Colombian soldiers to Sudan as combatants and technical advisers

The global supply chains moving cocaine from South America's Andean coca zones to North American, European, and emerging markets, the defining geography of transnational organized crime.

Six decades of guerrilla war, dissident FARC factions, and ELN insurgency make Colombia's security crisis the Western Hemisphere's longest active armed conflict.

The National Electoral Council completed the official scrutiny on June 24 and delivered credentials on June 25, closing the legal challenge period before the August 7 inauguration

Petro's bloc launches a 'juridical offensive' over the scrutiny; the CNE denies a full overseas recount

A lame-duck leftist president, barred from re-election, demands a recount and audit after his bloc loses the runoff by under 1%

A Trump-aligned lawyer edges leftist Iván Cepeda by under 1%, ending the Petro era and realigning Bogotá toward Washington; post-election clashes in three cities

Global production topped 3,700 tonnes in the last UNODC count; Ecuadorian ports now move up to 80% of Europe's cocaine as Petro rejects UN monitoring

ELN talks frozen since the Catatumbo massacre; violence less deadly but more pervasive, monitors find, as the transition looms

Washington's first 'failed demonstrably' label since 1997, plus sanctions on Petro himself, collide with a Trump-endorsed successor

Disciplinary and criminal files over his X account and rally speeches; the Council of State orders him to stop official political messaging

Petro blames Iván Mordisco's EMC for a wave of bombings across Cauca and Valle del Cauca as the campaign turns violent