'The Tiger' Hunts Power: Could Colombia Become Trump-Friendly?

In Bogotá's Timiza neighborhood, retired police officer Armando Vergara, 59, rents out motorcycles for 300 Swedish kronor weekly, stating he is the cheapest in the capital. Nearly half of Bogotá's eight million residents work in the informal sector, and Vergara's eleven motorcycles are constantly rented by food delivery workers.

"Everyone does what they can to earn their money," Vergara said. He believes the far-right presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández Suárez, who goes by the nickname 'El Tigre' (The Tiger), will improve Colombia's economy. Vergara accuses the outgoing left-wing president Gustavo Petro of antagonizing Donald Trump, with the U.S. president threatening a 25% tariff if Petro's intended successor wins the upcoming election.

"The left has driven relations with the U.S. to the bottom. We need someone who can open the doors to Washington again," Vergara stated. He also feels Hernández Suárez could combat rising violence more effectively. The candidate has promised to build giant prisons in the rainforest, modeled after El Salvador's system. "If you have committed a crime, you deserve nothing but water and bread. Prisons should not have gyms and such. It should feel like you are in prison," Vergara added, gesturing to wooden batons hanging on his garage wall. "The time for coddling criminals is over. If you have committed a crime, you must pay for it."

Hernández Suárez's hardline approach has made him a favorite in the presidential race. The defense lawyer also vows to resume spraying coca crops in rural areas, a practice banned by the constitution due to cancer risks. "I don't care about that. The important thing is that cocaine production disappears," Vergara said. Hernández Suárez has also been clear that he will not negotiate with the cocaine-producing guerrilla groups in the countryside. "He has promised war again. That's absolutely right. You cannot negotiate with guerrillas."

At Javeriana University in Bogotá, political scientist Federico García Naranjo explained that Hernández Suárez's candidacy draws inspiration from other right-wing populist presidents in Latin America. From Argentina's ultraliberal president, Javier Milei, he has adopted economic policies and a penchant for spectacular shows. Like Milei, who calls himself 'The Lion,' Hernández Suárez is 'The Tiger.' From Brazil's imprisoned far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, he borrowed ideas like urging supporters to wear the national football jersey and promoting himself as a Christian. From El Salvador's authoritarian president Nayib Bukele, he has taken his hardline security policies and visual style, sporting a well-groomed beard and always wearing a cap, even making salutes despite lacking military experience.