BARRANQUILLA: A flamboyant US-backed lawyer who has never held public office narrowly won Colombia’s presidential runoff Sunday, swinging the country hard right with a promise to wage war against drug-running guerrilla groups. With almost all polling centers reporting, Abelardo de la Espriella won 49.66 percent of the vote versus left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda’s 48.70 percent. The 47-year-old’s victory is set to improve strained relations with Washington and extends a wave of rightist candidates who have swept to power across Latin America promising “iron fist” security policies.

Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, won the preliminary count of the presidential runoff election in Colombia on Sunday,…

De La Espriella, 47, has proposed a tough crackdown on crime, as well as the end to peace talks with armed groups and a boost to Colombia's oil and gas sector.