Cali (Colombia) (AFP) – Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella takes office Friday, vowing to launch a war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States.
Issued on: 07/08/2026 - 16:42
3 min Reading time
The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the leftist-ruled Andean nation -- vowing to bomb jungle cocaine labs, build "mega-prisons" and slash the size of the state.After four years of diplomatic spats with the United States, President Donald Trump will now have a keen ally in Bogota. The 48-year-old President-elect, who holds dual US and Colombian citizenship, has offered to launch joint military operations and even host US troops on Colombian soil.In a break with tradition, his inauguration will take place in the tropical southwestern city of Cali, Colombia's salsa capital, not at Congress in more buttoned-down Bogota.Among the guests was a smiling Gianni Infantino, the beleaguered FIFA president who faces scathing criticism over his now shelved plan to open the World Cup and other competitions up to private investment.Infantino arrived in Cali with the head of South American football federation CONMEBOL, photos published by Colombia's federation showed.The inauguration will also be attended by powerful right-wing figures, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's acting attorney general, who will head a delegation filled with anti-drug policy officials.Former guerrilla hot spotCali has been the scene of several guerrilla pipe bomb attacks in the last few years. Pockets of the countryside to the south of the city are still controlled by armed groups.
