BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Conservative was set to be sworn in as Friday, not in the capital as is the tradition, but in the volatile southwestern city of Cali in a move meant to signal his hardline approach to illegal armed groups operating in the region.
De la Espriella, 48, will succeed after winning a close runoff election on June 21 against the outgoing president鈥檚 ally, Sen. Iv谩n Cepeda.
De la Espriella, who has never held public office before, ran as an outsider, financing his campaign with the fortune he amassed as a lawyer and businessman. His inauguration, to be held at a university auditorium before Congress, marks a .
King Felipe VI of Spain, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Latin American presidents including Argentina鈥檚 Javier Milei, Ecuador鈥檚 Daniel Noboa and Chile鈥檚 Jos茅 Antonio Kast arrived in Cali Friday to attend.
After the ceremony, de la Espriella planned to travel to a military battalion in Cali to address the troops. He aims to boost the morale of the service members and simultaneously warn the illegal armed groups operating in the area that they must surrender or face being declared 鈥渕ilitary targets.鈥�
De la Espriella, who calls himself 鈥淓l Tigre鈥� or 鈥淭he Tiger,鈥� has pledged to tackle the persistent violence in Colombia by , arguing that the peace process has failed.
Security became the main challenge of the swearing-in ceremony. Authorities deployed several checkpoints to search vehicles, looking for potential suspects or explosives.
Illegal economies, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, are disputed among groups like the dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that did not accept the , the Clan del Golfo cartel, and the National Liberation Army guerrilla group.
Impact on the region
De la Espriella, a Colombian-American citizen, comes to power after and as regional concerns grow about crime, immigration and the economy.
鈥淗is rise to power will reinforce this rightward shift across much of Latin America and consolidate a regional bloc of conservative governments against a dwindling number of left-wing administrations,鈥� Glaeldys Gonz谩lez, an analyst with the International Crisis Group for the Andes, told The Associated Press.
De la Espriella has said that his government will unite Colombia with the 鈥淪hield of the Americas,鈥� a regional coalition to fight drug trafficking that emerged from the summit held by Trump in March.
He also announced that he will resume diplomatic relations with Israel and sever them with Cuba and Nicaragua, which he considers 鈥渢yrannies.鈥�
Petro vows fierce opposition
De la Espriella will face robust opposition from Petro, , claiming that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers. The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia.
Petro will be 鈥渞elentless鈥� and 鈥渁cerbic鈥� as an opponent, seeking to strengthen his leadership, said political analyst Sergio Guzm谩n.
Petro has urged social movements in the southwest of the country to organize 鈥減eople鈥檚 militias鈥� to defend themselves against potential attacks from what he called the 鈥渇ascists,鈥� and called on his supporters to prepare for a general strike should they try to imprison him after he leaves office. Petro was , the AP reported in March.
These kinds of calls from Petro, coupled with the hard-line approach de la Espriella intends, increase the likelihood of 鈥渃onfrontations during demonstrations or more forceful responses from the authorities,鈥� according to Andr茅s Mac铆as, a researcher specializing in conflict and peace at Externado University.
In Cali, where Petro has a large following and most voted for Cepeda, social and student organizations protested. Demonstrations also took place in Bogota and Barranquilla.
鈥淗ere we are defending dignity, resisting and making it clear that he (de la Espriella) did not win here and we are letting him know it,鈥� Sebasti谩n Ocampo, 25, told the AP while demonstrating in Puerto Resistencia, a residential area of 鈥嬧�婥ali that was the epicenter of massive anti-government protests in 2021.
鈥淭here are very divided opinions in Cali … we are just hoping that the demonstrations will be peaceful,鈥� said Amanda Castro, a 29-year-old merchant from southern Cali.
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