In a nation long plagued by civil conflict and instability, the emergence of a new political threat weighs heavily on its future.
On a day close to Colombia’s presidential run-off election (June 21), President Trump took to social media to endorse Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer and businessman with a controversial history. De la Espriella, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has vowed to reinstate the conditions that existed prior to the election of Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president.
This shift is likely to dismantle the positive changes brought about by Petro’s administration, such as reducing poverty, increasing labor’s share of national income, advancing green energy initiatives, and gradually introducing agrarian reforms. Drawing inspiration from Javier Milei, one of his main advisors, Daniel Raisbeck—founder of Colombia’s Libertarian Movement—has proposed eliminating or privatizing 13 out of 19 government ministries and abolishing the minimum wage.
A letter authored by leading progressive economists and public policy experts, which includes renowned names such as Yannis Varoufakis and Ann Pettifor, outlines the critical implications:
The neoliberal consensus that has dominated development policy for over thirty years is now fracturing. Countries in the Global South have historically been told that development requires painful sacrifices: suppressed wages, weakened labor protections, limited public investment, favored extractive industries, and deferred climate ambitions. Colombia is forging a new path that demonstrates that emerging economies can raise incomes, reduce poverty, empower labor, pursue democratic agrarian reform, regain industrial policy, and initiate a just energy transition simultaneously. Its importance lies in constructing a model that aligns with its own societal realities and the needs of its people…
Latin America’s history is rife with reforms cut short, often under the guise of “economic responsibility,” a term often used to mask the return of privilege. Colombia now finds itself at a crucial juncture. Reversing the progress of the last few years would mean sliding back into dependency, exclusion, and resource exploitation. Moving forward would involve fostering prosperity based on dignified work, democratic land reforms, diverse production, and protection of living conditions.
The Trump administration, however, has outlined a different vision. Trump asserts that De la Espriella is vital for U.S.-Colombia relations, citing his commitment to join Washington’s newly launched Shield of the Americas coalition, which aims to combat transnational drug cartels, dismantle narcoterrorism, and manage mass migration. This initiative has drawn troubling comparisons to the U.S.-backed Plan Condor from the late 1970s.
Furthermore, De la Espriella has vowed to strengthen Colombia’s ties with Israel and form a strategic alliance with the nation, potentially joining the Isaac Accords, a framework to enhance cooperation with like-minded Latin American partners. This contrasts sharply with the Petro administration’s recent severance of relations with Israel over the situation in Gaza.
Trump’s endorsement on Truth Social included the following message:
Colombian Presidential Candidate, “El Tigre (THE TIGER),” Abelardo de la Espriella, is a Smart, Strong, and Tough Leader, who fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America. As President, Abelardo will be… pic.twitter.com/a3AdnpNoYI
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) June 18, 2026
Key highlights from this discussion include:
- If elected, De la Espriella would “have the total support and strength of the United States behind him,” a statement that implicitly suggests the U.S. might withdraw support if voters lean towards Petro’s leftist successor, Ivan Cepeda.
- Trump asserts that De la Espriella would restore law and order in Colombia—a dubious claim in light of De la Espriella’s connections to drug cartels, paramilitary organizations, and money launderers, including Alex Saab, a close associate of Nicolás Maduro.
Illinois Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García and eleven other House members sent a letter to the U.S. Secretaries of State, Justice, and Treasury, expressing concerns over the “deeply troubling record” of Trump-endorsed candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. The letter warns that the current administration’s backing of this candidate “contradicts U.S. interests and possibly U.S. laws”:
President Trump and several Republican members of Congress have openly supported Mr. De la Espriella. The President has hinted that should Mr. De la Espriella lose, Colombia may lose U.S. support, which is its key trade and security partner. This direct interference in another nation’s democratic elections contradicts established principles of national sovereignty and non-interference, as well as international law.
This interference is especially concerning given Mr. De la Espriella’s past. As a criminal defense attorney and businessman, he has come under scrutiny regarding the origins of his wealth and his connections to Colombian figures, including Alex Saab, an affluent intermediary for Maduro, who is currently under federal indictment in Florida for allegedly laundering millions.
Mr. De la Espriella also maintains close ties with leaders from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary drug-trafficking organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2001, which was implicated in numerous crimes, including massacres, assassinations, and forced disappearances.
Even more alarming are De la Espriella’s comments labeling the supporters of Gustavo Petro—over 12 million Colombians—as “enemies of the Republic” that must be defeated.
“I’m not interested in persuading Petristas,” he asserted. “They are enemies of the Republic and must be treated as such. We must defeat them on all fronts.”
De la Espriella has issued threats against Colombian journalists probing his links to Saab. Alarmingly, he is not the only one using incendiary rhetoric; far-right journalist Felipe Zuleta Llera, an ardent supporter of De la Espriella, has called for “defending our country with blood and fire” and cautioned left-wing voters to “hide” post-June 21.
This kind of language bears disturbing similarities to that used by Argentina’s faux libertarian President, Javier Milei. Before his election in late 2023, Milei spoke of launching a “cultural battle” against left-leaning politics, labeling them a “disease of the mind and soul.”
However, unlike Argentina, Colombia’s recent history is marked by decades of civil strife. Although a peace agreement was reached between Colombia’s military and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016, bringing a 50-year conflict to an end, the peace remains tenuous and often interrupted by violence.
Threats against leftist political figures and activists in Colombia carry profound implications. In the 1980s, then-President Virgilio Barco hired Rafi Eitan, a former Mossad chief, to help resolve guerrilla conflicts. Eitan recommended a brutal extermination campaign against the political leaders of the Patriotic Union (UP), a leftist party formed from a peace accord with FARC, leading to the assassination of over 3,000 UP members, including two presidential candidates.
Prominent journalist Gustavo Guillen has cautioned that De la Espriella may pose a greater danger than former President Alvaro Uribe, who himself had ties to paramilitary groups and was previously classified as an “important Colombian narco-trafficker” in a 1991 intelligence report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency:
Abelardo de la Espriella has never contributed positively to this country. In fact, he is a fraudster unlike any other in Colombia, surpassing even Alvaro Uribe…
He has defrauded the Colombian state and his own people, including some of the most dangerous criminals from Colombia and Venezuela. He has refused to disclose either his Colombian or U.S. income tax returns, raising serious questions about his loyalty.
This poses a critical concern for Colombia. Guillen refers to the U.S. naturalization oath, specifically the first three lines:
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”
Twenty former magistrates from Colombia’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court have argued that Aspriella’s American citizenship disqualifies him from the presidency, claiming that his commitments to the U.S. government clash with the obligations required of Colombia’s president. However, the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise.
Many other notable figures have sounded warnings regarding the threat de la Espriella poses to Colombia’s delicate peace. Former presidential candidate Gustavo Bolivar has described de la Espriella’s remarks about Petristas as “a declaration of war”:
When this person, filled with hatred, threatens to finish off 12 million Petristas “in all ways and from all fronts,” [he] is inciting civil war.
Let the prosperous business community know: if this man wins, Colombia will ignite. No one will allow themselves to be led to devastation without resistance. Alternatively, should he lose, we will ensure that all are part of this nation and that Senator Abelardo is given all necessary guarantees to exercise political opposition.
With such high stakes, Sunday’s election is anticipated to be contentious, amid accusations of vote-buying and electoral manipulations—especially in light of Trump’s endorsement of De la Espriella, raising the risk of escalating tensions.
Compounding the atmosphere, ICE agents recently detained Colombian attorney and political asylum seeker Beto Coral in Phoenix, Arizona. He now faces deportation and is a well-known critic of De la Espriella, having recently initiated a lawsuit against him for allegedly recording him without consent in a case involving former President Alvaro Uribe. Coral had participated in protests against de la Espriella in Miami.
Coral revealed to a Colombian media outlet that an agent stated his detention order originated from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Further reports from CEPR indicate:
In a short video recorded during his detention, Coral embraced his son, declaring:
Federal agents are here. They are taking me away. I knew this moment could arrive, but we will not back down. No retreat, no surrender.
Hours before his capture, De la Espriella seemed to hint at foreknowledge, posting on X:
Good news for Colombia and for patriotic Colombians abroad. Dura lex, sed lex… Coming soon. (A.D.L.E).
After Coral’s detention, Senator Bernie Moreno, who has repeatedly supported De la Espriella, accused Coral of acting as a “foreign agent” and suggested he deserved deportation from the U.S.
On a larger scale, the signs of conflict and unrest are intensifying throughout the region. This reflects the United States’ broader imperial ambitions.
In Bolivia, a general strike is entering its second month, spurred by rising inflation and cost-of-living issues linked to new government land reforms threatening small farmers’ rights, drawing a strong response from the U.S.-backed government. Political divisions continue to deepen.
As CEPR points out, the U.S. has consistently echoed Bolivia’s framing of these protests as driven by organized crime and “narcoterrorism.” Recently, Secretary Pete Hegseth stated:
The Department of War and the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) oppose all attempts to overthrow the legitimate government of President @Rodrigo_PazP in Bolivia.
The United States is closely monitoring the situation. Bolivia must not allow itself to fall into the grasp of narco-terrorist domination.
We will continue to support our A3C partners, such as Bolivia, to deter narco-terrorists from profiting from violence and destruction in our hemisphere.
As warned since 2023, the U.S. campaign against drug cartels serves as a facade for military intervention across Latin America and the Caribbean, primarily aimed at controlling resources, reminiscent of General Smedley D. Butler’s era. It’s becoming increasingly clear that many of the U.S.’s partners in this crusade, including Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, are themselves deeply compromised.
At a March gathering of military leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Southern Command HQ, Stephen Miller—recognized as a principal architect of the Trump administration’s so-called “war on narco-terror”—declared that drug-trafficking organizations are “the ISIS and the al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere” and should be dealt with “just as brutally.”
Miller encouraged military leaders to approach these groups through military means, suggesting they need not heed legal advice in their efforts. In essence, the grim warfare of the past appears poised for a resurgence as the U.S. seeks to regain (but potentially fail to sustain) its strategic dominance in what it considers its “backyard.”
