U.S. President Donald Trump sent a public congratulatory message to right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who has effectively won Colombia's presidential runoff, and said he expects stronger ties between the two countries.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on the 22nd, local time, effectively treated Espriella's victory as a fait accompli and said, "I look forward to working together to build a strong relationship between Colombia and the United States that can bring a new level of greatness to both countries."
In the Colombian presidential runoff held on the 21st, right-leaning party "Guardians of the Fatherland" candidate Espriella led by a narrow margin with 49.65% based on 99.9% of ballots counted, ahead of "Historic Pact" left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda Castro, who had 48.70%, according to tallies. According to local media and Agence France-Presse, the gap between the two candidates is about 250,000 votes.
However, a final winner has not yet been determined. Although the count is effectively complete, the margin between the two sides is less than 1 percentage point, leaving tension over the outcome.
If Espriella's victory is finalized, Colombia will return to a right-wing government four years after a leftist administration took office in 2022. This aligns with the recent surge of conservative forces in Latin America. In recent years, right-wing or center-right groups have come to power in countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, and Bolivia, spreading the so-called "blue tide" phenomenon.