Right-Wing Millionaire Promises to Make Colombia Safer

Self-proclaimed 'El Tigre' (The Tiger), Abelardo De la Espriella, is set to secure a narrow victory in Colombia's presidential election, advocating for a hard-line, right-wing policy to restore order. The 47-year-old millionaire businessman and former lawyer has radical plans for the South American nation of over 53 million people.

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With the American president Trump as an ally, he promises to pull Colombia out of a spiral of violence.

De la Espriella, who previously lived a luxurious life in Miami with his family, shifted his focus to politics after the assassination of right-wing presidential candidate Miguel Uribe a year ago. He returned to Colombia to lead his party, Defensores de la Patria (Defenders of the Fatherland), and entered the presidential race, positioning himself as an outsider against the established political order.

Despite Colombia officially signing a peace deal with the FARC guerrilla group in 2016, the country has seen a resurgence of violence involving numerous guerrilla factions and drug cartels. De la Espriella has gained popularity through flamboyant media appearances, presenting himself as both a strongman and a devoted family man. He draws inspiration from El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, proposing the construction of ten mega-prisons in the jungle to house guerrillas and drug traffickers.

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He profiles himself as an 'outsider' to the established order. As someone without political experience, but with great promises about a tough approach to the increasing violence in Colombia.

He has pledged to dismantle major cartels within ninety days, potentially through bombing jungle camps. De la Espriella also aims to revive the joint "war on drugs" with the United States, echoing past collaborations. Furthermore, he intends to revise the peace accord with the FARC, deeming its terms too lenient for the former guerrilla group. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly expressed support and admiration for De la Espriella, congratulating him even before the official results were announced.

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Like his great role model, Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, he wants to build mega-prisons, ten of them in the jungle to lock up guerrillas and drug criminals.