US President Donald Trump on Monday congratulated right-wing politician Abelardo de la Espriella on winning Colombia's presidential election before the official final results were published.
"Congratulations to 'El Tigre' (THE TIGER!) Abelardo de la Espriella, the new President of Colombia," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He said it had been a "Great Honor" to support the conservative opposition candidate during the campaign.
De la Espriella has pledged to strengthen ties with Washington and deepen cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.
With nearly all votes counted, de la Espriella - who brands himself "El Tigre" (The Tiger) - held an insurmountable lead and was expected to succeed left-wing incumbent Gustavo Petro on August 7.
With 99.99% of ballots tallied, he had 49.6% of the vote, compared with 48.7% for his left-wing rival Iván Cepeda, according to electoral authorities. The two candidates were separated by around 250,000 votes, with roughly 41 million people eligible to vote in Colombia.
While de la Espriella declared victory, both President Petro and Cepeda said they would await the official certification of results. Cepeda's campaign said results from around 33,000 ballot boxes were being challenged. Preliminary counts in Colombia are typically considered highly reliable and rarely differ significantly from final results.
The emerging victory reflects a broader rightward shift in parts of Latin America, where conservative and market-oriented governments have recently gained ground in countries including Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Chile and Costa Rica.
Several conservative regional leaders congratulated de la Espriella. Argentine President Javier Milei wrote in all caps that "the lion and the tiger roar in Latin America."
