Colombia's hard-right presidential frontrunner on Tuesday promised much closer ties with the United States after receiving the backing of President Donald Trump. Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer campaigning as a tough-on-crime outsider, said relations with Washington would be "like never before" if he defeats leftist senator Ivan Cepeda in a June 21 run-off. De la Espriella was the surprise winner of the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, held against the backdrop of a surge in drug-related guerrilla violence. He garnered more than 43 per cent – compared with 41 per cent for Cepeda – with the law-and-order platform that has propelled right-wingers to power across Latin America. The third-placed candidate Paloma Valencia, a conservative, has thrown her support behind the right-wing showman, putting him in pole position to become the next president of one of Washington's closest South American allies.
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© France 24
