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U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Abelardo de la Espriella after preliminary results showed the U.S.-backed candidate narrowly winning Colombia's presidential runoff, a result that sparked protests and an immediate challenge from his leftist rival and outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
De la Espriella, a criminal defense attorney and businessman representing the Defensores de la Patria party, secured 49.65% of the vote with 99.93% of ballots counted in the rapid pre-count system, according to figures released by Colombia's National Civil Registry.
Senator Ivan Cepeda of the ruling leftist Pacto Historico coalition received 48.7%, leaving a gap of less than 248,000 votes between the two candidates.
The result, if confirmed, would give de la Espriella the presidency for the 2026-2030 term.
Trump commented on the election results Sunday in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he was pleased that de la Espriella, whom he had supported, won the runoff.
"He won big," Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated de la Espriella, saying in a post on the U.S. social media platform X that he had spoken to him to "congratulate him on his electoral victory."
"The Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming administration to advance regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen our economic ties. Colombia's best days are ahead," Rubio said.
Rubio's remarks came as preliminary election results showed de la Espriella winning by a narrow margin.
Both outgoing President Gustavo Petro and Cepeda refused to recognize the verdict as final, citing voting irregularities and launching a legal challenge to contest tens of thousands of polling stations.
Cepeda stopped short of conceding defeat.
"Once the count has been completed and its final result is known, and the corresponding checks have been carried out, we will acknowledge the official result," Cepeda told supporters.
For Cepeda to win, hundreds of thousands of votes would need to be overturned in a final count. The margin of error for the first count is usually in the low thousands, according to one report.
The tight margin triggered an institutional standoff over who will govern the South American nation.
De la Espriella campaigned on a hardline law-and-order platform focused on combating guerrilla groups, drug trafficking and rising crime.
His campaign message was heavily amplified by an explicit social media endorsement from Trump.
After the vote, de la Espriella addressed supporters in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla from behind thick bulletproof glass.
"We are beginning a new era!" he said.
"For those who have sown violence, terror, drug trafficking, and corruption all these years, their time is up!" he added, echoing his campaign pledge to confront drug-running guerrilla groups.
De la Espriella also used his victory speech to try to calm critics, saying his government would be democratic and would guarantee freedom and institutional order.
"Mine will be an absolutely democratic government and a guarantor of freedom and institutional order," he said, vowing to respect all races, religions and political views.
"I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who choose another candidate," he added.
He also warned Cepeda to respect the vote, form the opposition and "don't even think about stoking violence."
"The Tiger can still bite you harder than he has bitten you at the ballot box," de la Espriella said, using the nickname his supporters have given him.
The narrow result triggered demonstrations in Colombia's largest cities as night fell.
In Cali, some protesters burned American flags, while others wielded steel bars and clashed with riot police, who tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas.
There was also unrest in the capital Bogota, where demonstrators burned tires and threw bricks at police.
"We've already had many years of right-wing governments that care only about making the rich richer," 26-year-old student Natalia told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Supporters of de la Espriella also took to the streets in several cities, wearing the canary-yellow national football jersey he had adopted as a campaign uniform.
They waved flags, blew horns and expressed hope that "The Tiger" would bring security.
"I'm very happy," said 30-year-old supporter Daniela Oliveros in Barranquilla. "I believe a lot in the country, I believe a lot in freedom."
"Abelardo, at this moment, is giving us above all a sense of security, employment, and dignity," she said.
De la Espriella's win marks a return to power for Colombia's right wing, which has ruled the country for all but four of the last 200 years, according to one report.
The result is also expected to ease ties with Washington and extend a regional right-wing wave centered on "iron fist" security policies.
The 47-year-old has never held public office and holds dual U.S.-Colombian nationality, according to one report.
During the campaign, de la Espriella told AFP that he would scrap peace talks with dissident groups and launch a 90-day campaign of U.S.-backed airstrikes against them.
The result is likely to test Colombia's fragile decade-old peace process.
In the 10 years since a landmark peace accord was signed with FARC guerrillas, much of Colombia has prospered.
However, cartels and dissident groups still control parts of the country, cocaine exports are at an all-time high and Colombia remains one of the world's most economically unequal countries.
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