Revision History

Abelardo de la Espriella, a combative lawyer nicknamed "El Tigre," won 43.7% of the vote in Colombia's first-round presidential election on May 31, 2026, promising Bukele-style mega-prisons and military offensives against cartels. His rise reflects deep public frustration with President Petro's "Total Peace" policy, under which homicides, kidnappings, and extortion all increased — but his platform also raises serious questions about human rights, constitutional constraints, and his own past ties to Colombia's paramilitary networks.