De la Espriella to close Colombian embassies in 14 countries and cut ties with Cuba and Nicaragua

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Monday, July 27th 2026 - 20:14 UTC

The announcement draws a distinction between two situations. With Havana and Managua, the president-elect said there would be “no link whatsoever”

Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced that his government will close the country's embassies in fourteen nations and will not maintain relations with Cuba and Nicaragua, which he described as “tyrannies.” The measure, released on Sunday night in a video on his social media accounts, will take effect from his inauguration on August 7.

The announcement draws a distinction between two situations. With Havana and Managua, the president-elect said there would be “no link whatsoever.” For the remaining twelve cases he cited budgetary reasons and made clear that the decisions “do not mean breaking diplomatic relations”: those countries will instead be covered through concurrent representation from other embassies in the region. “We cannot maintain such a costly structure, which produces no concrete results for the country,” he said.