Abelardo de la Espriella (left), candidate elected president of Colombia in the preliminary vote count, and Donald Trump, US President. Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP/Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS United States President Donald Trump congratulated Abelardo de la Espriella this Sunday (21) after he won the presidential election in Colombia, according to the preliminary count. Espriella received public support from Trump during the race. The right-wing candidate defeated leftist Iván Cepeda at the polls in Sunday's election. ✅ Follow g1's international news channel on WhatsApp "GREAT victory for him," Trump said of Espriella in a post on his social network Truth Social. After being pointed to as the new Colombian president, Espriella said he was congratulated privately by the North American president.
The right-wing candidate was publicly supported by Trump during the election, and defeated candidate Iván Cepeda, an ally of President Gustavo Petro. Sunday's result will still be ratified in the coming days in a final count, called "scrutiny". See reaction to Espriella's victory: Javier Milei The President of Argentina congratulated Espriella.
"Today, the majority of Colombians chose the path of economic freedom, prosperity, relentless security, and saying ENOUGH to transnational organized crime and drug trafficking," he stated. Javier Milei, president of Argentina, comments on preliminary results of elections in Colombia Reproduction/X Flávio Bolsonaro The PL pre-candidate for the Presidency of Brazil posted a video congratulating Espriella.
"His victory is a victory of good over evil," he stated. Initial plugin text Keiko Fujimori Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori also took to social media to celebrate the preliminary vote count result.
"A few weeks ago, he [Espriella] offered me support at a decisive moment for Peru," she said. The country has been waiting since June 7 to find out who the new president will be.
To date, 99.64% of the ballots have been counted. Fujimori leads with 50.113% of the votes against 49.887% for the left-wing congressman. Initial plugin text Álvaro Uribe Vélez Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe stated that Espriella "will carry out a government of democratic recovery". Álvaro Uribe Reproduction/X Daniel Noboa The President of Ecuador also congratulated Espriella and stated that the result shows the country chose "order over impunity".
Daniel Noboa Reproduction/X Maria Corina Machado The Nobel Peace Prize winner and opponent of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela also congratulated Espriella. "Today Colombia spoke with strength, hope, and determination," she said.
Initial plugin text Marco Rubio The United States Secretary of State also congratulated Espriella. "The Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your administration," he stated.
Marco Rubio Reproduction/X The Result According to data from the so-called "preconteo" released by the country's electoral authorities, De la Espriella surpassed Senator Iván Cepeda by less than 250,000 votes. The latest update points to 12,944,441 votes for Espriella, the right-wing candidate supported by United States President Donald Trump, and 12,697,154 for the leftist Cepeda, an ally of current Colombian President Gustavo Petro. The definitive count is expected to take place this Monday (22). On social media, President Gustavo Petro stated on Sunday night that no result should be considered official until the scrutiny is completed. "No president can be proclaimed.
It is the scrutiny that determines who the president is. I obey the judges.
Tranquility to the citizens, please. Reality shows us a country split in half, and foreign interference strips us of our freedom.
A national agreement is imperative if we want to maintain the homeland and peace in the years to come," Petro wrote. Right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella gesticulates among supporters during the 2nd round of Colombia's presidential elections in Barranquilla, Colombia, on June 21, 2026. REUTERS/Jair Coll The victory of right-winger De la Espriella represents a turning point in the country after the Petro administration, Colombia's first left-wing president in history. Elections in Colombia: 2nd round with a dispute between Petro's candidate and Trump's backed candidate The election became a "tug-of-war" between the country's current president, Gustavo Petro, and US President Donald Trump. Cepeda was the candidate supported by Petro, while ultra-rightist Espriella had the declared backing of the US leader.
Read more below. The election result would cement the wave of right-wing governments in Latin America. This is because Espriella may join several Latin American countries that have elected right-wing governments in recent years, such as Chile, with Jorge Kast, and Bolivia, with Rodrigo Paz. The National Electoral Council (CNE) said that voting took place peacefully and without major incidents, and with international observers, such as representatives from the OAS and the European Union. Following controversy in the 1st round, Petro stated this Sunday after voting that he will respect the election results.
Even so, the current president made several calls for a popular mobilization to monitor the electoral records. Cepeda also said he will respect the verdict, but spoke of conducting "very clear, rigorous, and thorough supervision" of the vote count. After the end of voting, Espriella stated in a video on social media that he wants to be remembered as "the rebuilder of the homeland".
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