Colombia’s conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella took office as the nation’s new head of state for the next four years on Friday afternoon.
The presidential inauguration, hosted by the city of Cali for the first time in the country’s history, occurred under the watch of a highly reinforced security operation amid a string of terrorist threats and a thwarted attack with explosives this week. Abelardo de la Espriella succeeded former President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the Marxist M19 terrorist group and Colombia’s first and so far only leftist president ever.
President de la Espriella, a 48-year-old lawyer nicknamed “The Tiger” and highly supportive of President Donald Trump and the United States, became the next Colombian head of state after defeating far-left Sen. Iván Cepeda in the June 21 presidential runoff election. He ran successfully on a campaign focused on the fight against organized crime and terrorist organizations, eradicating corruption, and restoring the country’s economy and security.
De la Espriella and his Vice President José Manuel Restrepo will lead Colombia for a four-year term through August 7, 2030.
Although all previous Colombian presidents for over 200 years have been inaugurated in the capital city of Bogotá, President de la Espriella chose the city of Cali to be the host of his inauguration ceremony. De la Espriella was sworn in at around 4:30 p.m. local time, taking an oath and receiving the presidential sash from the head of the Colombian Senate, Honorio Miguel Henríquez Pineda. De la Espriella, now as president of Colombia, proceeded by swearing in Vice President Restrepo. The ceremony took place at the Arena USC amphitheater of the University of Cali.
De la Espriella delivered his first speech as president at the Cantón Pichincha, a military base in Cali. The new Colombian president prefaced his words by expressing his gratitude to the Colombian people and his family and thanking Jesus Christ for watching over the country and its people through its darkest periods. The conservative president affirmed that he has come to “close a long chapter of national resignation and to undertake, alongside the people, the most profound transformation of our destiny.”
“I send a firm message to the Colombian people — the time has come to restore order, authority, and freedom,” de la Espriella said, emphasizing that he will be the president of Colombia for all Colombians, whether they voted for him or not.
President de la Espriella also paid respects and paid homage to slain conservative Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was assassinated last year while widely being considered the 2026 presidential frontrunner. De la Espriella stressed, “Thank you, Miguel Uribe Turbay, in Heaven. Colombia will never forget you.”
Referring to Colombia’s decades-long fight against drug trafficking, de la Espriella affirmed that his administration will prioritize the eradication of coca leaf crops — the main ingredient used in the production of cocaine. De la Espriella emphasized that the time for “negotiations” with criminal organizations and vowed to construct “mega-prisons” to imprison those who represent the biggest threats to Colombian security. As the new commander-in-chief of Colombia’s Armed Forces, he immediately gave the order to fight against all criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. Additionally, the Colombian president said that the names of criminal groups deemed terrorists by the Colombian Army will be disclosed in the coming hours.
De la Espriella reiterated that his administration will not seek any kind of constitutional reform to alter the laws of the republic or extend presidential terms — citing American founding father Thomas Jefferson, who “warned that there would never be a lack of real difficulties capable of serving as a pretext for prolonging the exercise of power.”
The Colombian president stated that his administration will end in four years, and he will hand over the presidency and all of its institutions to whoever succeeds him when the time comes.
Some 30 international delegations attended de la Espriella’s inauguration, including several heads of state such as Argentina’s Javier Milei, Paraguay’s Santiago Peña, José Antonio Kast of Chile, Daniel Noboa of Ecuador, and King Felipe VI of Spain. The United States sent a delegation led by Acting AG Todd Blanche. Former Colombian Presidents Álvaro Uribe Velez and Iván Duque were also among the attendees at the inauguration ceremony. De la Espriella’s predecessor, Marxist former President Gustavo Petro, was not present at the ceremony, as he has repeatedly refused to recognize de la Espriella’s electoral victory.
After swearing in de la Espriella, Sen. Henríquez delivered a speech presenting a panorama of Colombia’s current state to its new president — detailing the challenges that the new Colombian conservative government will have to face in security, the economy, health care, corruption, and the fight against drug trafficking. During his intervention, a roughly one-minute ovation was also given to Miguel Uribe Turbay. Representatives of Colombia’s main religious communities also delivered elevated prayers for Colombia and its new government authorities.
Cali, the capital of the southwest department (state) of Valle del Cauca, is one of the regions of the country most affected by the violent actions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Marxist terror group. De la Espriella reportedly explained that he chose Cali as a “symbolic” gesture of his administration’s promise to fight against criminals and terrorist groups.
Thousands of Colombian law enforcement officials were deployed to Cali as part of a security operation for the ceremony. The operation has since been reinforced and significantly expanded in Cali and other cities after police officers recently intercepted a bus loaded with 420 kilograms worth of explosives near Cali. According to investigations, the explosives-loaded vehicle was part of a plot led by a notoriously dangerous FARC commander that sought to kill local Cali civilians and law enforcement officials. Per the Colombian newspaper El Colombiano, over 11,000 law enforcement officials were deployed to Cali and its vicinities to guarantee security for the ceremony.
De la Espriella’s predecessor, Marxist former President Gustavo Petro, has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the conservative president’s victory. According to Petro, “algorithmic fraud” was allegedly committed in favor of de la Espriella and as such, his chosen successor Iván Cepeda is the “president of Colombia.”
At press time, Petro has not publicly revealed any evidence to substantiate his “fraud” accusations beyond publishing dubious “proof” documents and unhinged Twitter rants. This week, during a press conference on the final hours of his administration, Petro threatened that a “civil war” could erupt in Colombia if Abelardo de la Espriella is sworn in on Friday. Last month, Petro, using his faculties as the then-commander-in-chief of the Colombian Armed Forces, banned de la Espriella from being able to hold his inauguration ceremony at any Colombian military or police establishment.
In addition to focusing on the fight against international crime and Colombian terrorist organizations, President de la Espriella has vowed to restore Colombia’s historic friendly relations with the United States and Israel — both of which were singlehandedly and severely strained by Petro over the past years. De la Espriella has also pledged to have Colombia join President Trump’s Shield of the Americas regional counter-cartel initiative.
According to Nate Morris, President Donald Trump’s nominee as the next U.S. ambassador to Colombia, de la Espriella also intends to withdraw Colombia from China’s predatory Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Petro had Colombia join in 2025.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.