Prominent right-wing lawyer Abelardo de Lasperia, who is strongly backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, narrowly won a crucial runoff of Colombia's presidential election on Sunday, redrawing the country's political map to the far right, following a fierce election campaign in which he vowed to wage a relentless war against drug cartels and rebel armed groups.

Official results from the Colombian electoral body showed that after more than 99% of the ballots were counted, Laspiria received 49.65% of the vote, slightly ahead of his leftist rival Senator Iván Cepeda, who received 48.70%.

The 47-year-old's dismissal was a de facto popular rejection of the policies of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro, whose ally Cepeda had aspired to continue his social and political agenda if he won.

U.S. Support and Opposition Appeals

The new Colombian president received the full support of U.S. President Donald Trump during the election campaign, even though Lasperia had never held any political office in his life.

In an official post on social media, LaSpiria revealed that he received a direct phone call from Trump congratulating him on his victory, expressing his unequivocal support for his incoming administration, which reinforces expectations of a radical improvement in diplomatic relations between Bogotá and Washington, which provides Colombia with billions of dollars in military supplies and aid.

Outgoing President Gustavo Petro has vowed to immediately challenge the results of the election before they are finally announced.

The losing leftist candidate, Ivan Cepeda, confirmed that his legal team will file official appeals involving more than 30,000 polling stations, noting that the competition has been fierce since the first round held on May 31, which was issued by Laspiria with 44.2% to 41% for his leftist opponent.

The "Tiger" Doctrine and the Salvadoran Model

De Lasperia, who holds dual U.S. and Italian citizenship alongside his mother tongue and is popularly nicknamed "El Tigre" (the tiger), has adopted a hardline nationalist rhetoric based on the slogan "Stand Up for the Fatherland," a visual and marketing proposition that closely resembles Trump's "America First" slogan.

He summed up his political security philosophy in remarks he made to the Associated Press in June 2026, stressing that the only peace process he believes in is one that enforces force force and the rule of law.

In an interview with AFP, the president-elect announced that he would immediately end all parallel and fragile peace talks launched by the previous administration with rebel groups, threatening a campaign of crushing air strikes against their strongholds for 90 days with logistical and military support from the United States.

Laspiria has promised to open 10 massive prisons to combat organized crime, inspired by the style of President of El Salvador Najib Bukela, and launched his government program titled "Colombia. The Miracle Homeland", which is based on strengthening security with an iron fist, reducing state institutions by 40%, and reviving the economy through the expansion of oil extraction.

From the corridors of criminal law to the rule of law

Abelardo Gabriel de Lasperia Otero was born on July 31, 1978 in the capital Bogotá to a wealthy family, before his family moved to Monterrey, the capital of the province of Córdoba, to build valuable social and political influence among the elite where his father worked as a lawyer and judge and was appointed by former President Álvaro Uribe as a notary public, while his mother, María Iohinha Otero, successfully led his 2026 presidential election campaign.

The new president received a bachelor's degree in law from the conservative University of Sergio Arboleda, followed by specialized studies in criminal sciences at the University of Externado, and a master's degree from the University of De Nebreha in Spain.

Lasperia began his career in 1999 defending minor labor cases, before founding his famous financial and political crime firm in 2002, which has branches in major cities such as Medellín, Barranquilla and Miami.

The young lawyer has built his national fame and presence by representing controversial figures from art and sports and prominent politicians, as well as taking on the defence of crime figures and drug dealers.

De La Spiria's professional and political past has sparked a stormy debate in Colombia, with the Colombian Chronicle revealing that he worked as an adviser to the right-wing militia United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia during peace negotiations between 2002 and 2005, and that he was close friends with and defended by a prominent militia leader, Salvatore Mancuso, when he was extradited to Washington.

The lawyer faced sharp criticism from his opponents, who saw his founding of the FIPAZ Peace Foundation in 2004 as a mere legal and institutional cover to protect militia leaders from arrest or deportation to US prisons on drug trafficking charges, before founding the "Defenders of the Homeland" movement in 2025 and starting from it with the support of the "National Salvation Movement" to top the presidency.