[94527] Turning point in Colombia: Pro-Israel right-wing candidate De la Espriella elected president

Political turning point in Colombia: "The Tiger" elected president

After an especially close race in the second round of Colombia's presidential elections, right-wing candidate Abelardo De la Espriella was declared the winner with about 49.66% of the vote, a gap of about 250,000 votes from his opponent, according to NTD Hebrew News. De la Espriella, nicknamed "The Tiger," ran a campaign focused on security and anti-leftist policy, and received the open support of U.S. President Donald Trump, who congratulated him on his victory, as reported by ynet.

The victory is expected to lead to a dramatic shift in Colombia's international relations, with an emphasis on ties with Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar congratulated the president-elect and said: "I have invited President-elect De la Espriella to visit Israel and I hope to welcome him to Jerusalem very soon" (ynet). The "Ongoing Security" channel noted that De la Espriella has previously declared his intention to move his country's embassy to Jerusalem and deepen security cooperation with Israel.

Conversely, outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who led a distinctly anti-Israel line and called the war in Gaza "genocide," refuses to recognize the results. According to Asaf Rozenzweig, Petro is alleging fraud and IP changes on the National Registry servers, and has even directly accused the State of Israel of hacking the voting software. These claims are similar to the narrative published by the "News of the Day" channels, which emphasize the tension between Petro and the country's democratic institutions.

In "Security Alerts 24/7", they analyzed the regional picture and noted that De la Espriella's victory joins a sequence of right-wing victories in South America. They added that the president-elect is expected to continue with a militant line toward drug lords, similar to the policy of Argentine President Javier Milei, which could lead to intense internal conflicts in the country during his term.