Colombia swings right by a whisker in the tightest runoff in its history
A Trump-aligned lawyer edges leftist Iván Cepeda by under 1%, ending the Petro era and realigning Bogotá toward Washington
Summary
Lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's 21 June 2026 presidential runoff with 49.66% (about 12.96m votes) to Iván Cepeda's 48.70% — a margin under 250,000 votes, the narrowest in the country's modern history, on 63.6% turnout. President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio congratulated him; outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro alleged irregularities without evidence and said no winner could be proclaimed pending the formal count, which Cepeda's campaign contested. De la Espriella pledges tighter US security cooperation, isolation of Cuba and Venezuela, and counternarcotics alignment.
Why it matters
Colombia's rightward shift hardens a region-wide realignment toward Washington across Latin America — alongside Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador — and signals tougher lines on Venezuela and drug policy.