Conservative outsider Abelardo De La Espriella recently prevailed in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election. De La Espriella campaigned on confronting narco-terrorist groups, reviving the economy, and curbing corruption and runaway government spending. His narrow victory over Ivan Cepeda, Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s ideological ally and preferred successor, hands Washington a rare chance to revitalize one of its most important partnerships in the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S.-Colombia partnership has atrophied under Petro. The country is South America’s third-largest economy and one of the few on the continent that still counts America, not China, as its largest trading partner. Yet amid slowing growth, Petro has actively sought closer ties with Beijing, joining the Belt and Road Initiative in 2025. Colombian security forces are some of the most capable in the hemisphere after significant U.S. investments in training and security assistance under Plan Colombia. But under Petro, security has worsened significantly.
Since the 2016 peace accord with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, successive Colombian governments have failed to bring state control to every corner of the country and fill the vacuum left by the demobilization of the FARC and paramilitary groups. FARC dissidents, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional, the Clan del Golfo, and other armed groups have stepped into that gap. Petro’s Total Peace policy, which attempted to negotiate peace accords with each of the armed groups at once and abandoned coca eradication, supercharged their rise.
In March, I took part in the International Republican Institute’s preelection assessment mission in Colombia. During a meeting with a cross-party group of newly elected senators, we heard how three factors sustain the armed groups terrorizing Colombians: illegal crops, illicit gold, and pervasive impunity. Not only do these groups affect electoral competition in areas they control, especially for candidates like De La Espriella, but they also have significant implications for the United States.
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, a drug that kills thousands of Americans each year. Illicit gold has become a more profitable revenue stream for transnational criminal groups than narcotics and has even tainted U.S. supply chains. The ELN and FARC dissident groups have exploited impunity and territorial control in Colombia and the collapse of state institutions in Caracas to expand their presence in Venezuela. Venezuela, like Colombia, cannot succeed long-term without uprooting them, and a large ungoverned transborder region controlled by U.S.-designated terrorist groups is a major risk for the entire hemisphere.
De La Espriella campaigned on addressing these challenges. Turning his populist and, at times, controversial campaign rhetoric into durable security and economic gains, however, will not be easy. One major reason: Petro and Cepeda’s Pacto Histórico will control the largest number of seats in Colombia’s Congress and maintain the ability to mobilize large demonstrations against the new government. In contrast, De La Espriella must work with the traditional parties he defeated in the first round to build a governing coalition.
The Trump administration should work with the new government to support the development and implementation of a security strategy that leverages the country’s capable security forces and strong institutions to turn the tide against narco-terrorist groups. Beyond support for Colombia’s military, the administration should leverage State Department and Treasury Department assistance to increase the capacity of law enforcement and Colombia’s financial intelligence unit. This work is critical because dismantling these entrenched criminal networks requires tackling the illicit financial flows and gold supply chains that finance their activities.
PRO-TRUMP CANDIDATE PROCEEDS TO RUNOFF IN COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
On the economic side, the U.S. should deepen the bilateral relationship by deploying development finance, export credit, and other tools to support projects that create economic gains in both countries. The Trump administration should also integrate Colombia into its critical minerals initiatives, given the country’s reserves of copper and other minerals. Finally, De La Espriella’s commitment to restarting oil and gas exploration after a moratorium under Petro would align Colombia with Washington’s goal of supporting energy security in the Western Hemisphere.
When De La Espriella takes office, he will lead a deeply polarized country with a narrow mandate. The U.S. should help him succeed, not because he is ideologically aligned with the Trump administration, but rather because his focus on security and economic growth creates an opportunity to advance U.S. national security interests. After decades of close U.S.-Colombia ties, Sunday’s result provides a chance to forge a stronger path for this critical relationship.
Connor Pfeiffer is senior director of government relations at FDD Action and a former policy adviser in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who focused on Western Hemisphere and international economic issues. He can be found on X @ConnorPfeiffer.