Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.
The highlights this week: Colombia elects a far-right firebrand as its next president, an earthquake shakes Venezuela, and health researchers praise Uruguay’s marijuana policy.
True to polls, far-right businessman and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday. He is the latest in a string of right-wing, U.S.-aligned candidates to be elected in Latin America. U.S. President Donald Trump was vocal about Colombia’s vote, endorsing de la Espriella on social media.
Last week, U.S. immigration authorities detained a Colombian immigrant based in the United States who had publicly criticized de la Espriella. A U.S. State Department memo cited the immigrant’s political speech while laying out grounds for his deportation, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, some Democratic U.S. lawmakers published an open letter calling for an investigation into connections between the president-elect and apparent shell companies in the United States. (De la Espriella lived in Miami for years and is a U.S. and Italian citizen.)
