The millionaire lawyer with a taste for spectacle took office on Friday after a campaign focused on anger and fears about security.Following a legal career that saw him represent drug-trafficking paramilitaries, fraudsters and football stars, he has promised to restore order with an iron hand. During the campaign, he leaned heavily into his self-proclaimed nickname "The Tiger," sharing AI-generated images of himself as a fanged tiger and the only candidate willing to wage war on crime and insurgency."I have the balls to restore order," he said repeatedly.
De la Espriella’s bombastic campaign featured fireworks, AI videos and his characteristic military salute © JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP
He didn't always play the tough guy. He previously lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, travelled by private jet and promoted his rum, wine and fashion brand -- "De la Espriella Style."He brought that flair, tailored clothing and a taste for provocation into public life.The message resonated with almost half of voters. De la Espriella won the presidential runoff, albeit by less than a percentage point.'All-out war'De la Espriella promised a sharp break with the outgoing leftist government in a hardline program of "all-out war" on armed groups, the construction of "mega-prisons," a military alliance with Washington and Israel and a drastically reduced state."People who have created wealth during their lives should run the country," he once told AFP unapologetically.His rhetoric has often been incendiary. He once called for the Colombian left to be "gutted," a comment he later withdrew.
