Trump’s “powerful relationship” with Colombia!
Washington, Jun 22 (EFE).-
The United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he looks forward to building a “powerful relationship” with Colombia following the victory of right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who was backed by the Republican leader, in Sunday’s presidential election.
“Congratulations to ‘El Tigre’ (THE TIGER!) Abelardo de la Espriella, the new President of Colombia! It was my Great Honor to endorse him, and I look forward to working together to build a powerful relationship between Colombia and the United States of America, which will bring new levels of Greatness for both of our Countries!,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
According to the preliminary count, and pending official final results, De la Espriella won the runoff election with 49.66% of the vote, compared to 48.7% for leftist candidate Iván Cepeda.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with De la Espriella on Sunday night to congratulate him on his victory.
During the campaign, the US president posted three messages on Truth Social expressing his support for the Defensores de la Patria (Defenders of the Homeland) candidate and promising “total support” to Colombia in the event of a victory.
De la Espriella comes to power promising full alignment with the White House regarding the fight against organized crime and migration.
His victory marks a significant shift from the tense relations between the Trump Administration and the outgoing government of Gustavo Petro, who was placed on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list for alleged links to drug trafficking, accusations the outgoing leader denies.
The White House’s national security strategy aims to strengthen Washington’s leadership in Latin America.
In this context, Trump promoted the “Shield of the Americas” alliance, composed of right-wing governments in the region, including Argentina, El Salvador, Chile, and Ecuador, to combat drug trafficking, an alliance Colombia may now join. EFE
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