Lawyer De La Espriella surges in Colombia's presidential race

Abelardo De La Espriella has pushed Colombia’s presidential race into a showdown over fear, punishment and the limits of state power. The lawyer and businessman, who has never held elected office, is running on promises to crush illegal armed groups, drug trafficking and street crime, and a recent poll placed him just behind leftist Iván Cepeda.

His rise matters because Colombia is heading into a May 31 presidential election that will replace President Gustavo Petro, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. The contest has become a referendum on Petro’s agenda, especially his attempts to negotiate with guerrillas and criminal gangs. De La Espriella has made the failure of those talks central to his pitch, arguing that Colombians need a tougher hand after years of violence, illegal gold mining and cocaine trafficking.

That message has helped him break through against both the left and the traditional right. A Centro Nacional de Consultoría poll put Cepeda at 33.4% and De La Espriella at 30.9%, with Paloma Valencia well behind. Another poll tracker describes the race as a three-way fight among Cepeda, De La Espriella and Valencia, showing that the conservative outsider is no longer a protest candidacy but one of the main contenders in a polarized field.

De La Espriella has cast himself as a savior figure and embraced the nickname “The Tiger.” In a February interview, he said, “I will dare to do what needs to be done within the framework of the constitution and the law to save and rebuild Colombia...I am the tiger for that.” His rallies have leaned into military-style imagery and nationalist rhetoric, while supporters present him as the blunt-force answer to a state they see as overwhelmed by armed groups and criminal economies.

The appeal is rooted in real insecurity, but so are the risks. Human rights reporting says the run-up to the 2026 election was marred by violence, including the killing of congressman and would-be presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay. De La Espriella’s answer is not negotiation but mega-prisons, a model associated with El Salvador’s anti-gang crackdown. That puts him in sharp contrast with Colombia’s history of fragile peace efforts and its institutions, which have long tried to balance public order with civil liberties.

The ELN has said it is open to resuming peace talks with Petro’s successor, underscoring how much the next president will shape Colombia’s approach to armed groups. If no candidate wins a majority on May 31, a runoff will follow, meaning De La Espriella’s surge could determine whether the country turns toward confrontation or another round of negotiation.