A millionaire right-wing lawyer who vows an iron fist for drug gangs and a left-wing philosopher-turned-senator have reached the June 21 runoff to see who will be Colombia’s next president.
“Tiger” –
Abelardo de la Espriella, 47, is a millionaire lawyer and businessman who said he entered politics to prevent Colombia from being “destroyed” by the left.
He has a lot of respect for US President Donald Trump, Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.
Sporting impeccable suits and, most recently, a bulletproof vest, his legal career has seen him defend prominent Colombian figures including drug traffickers and soccer stars.
Before launching his presidential bid, De la Espriella lived in Florence, Italy, where he attended opera, traveled on private jets and promoted his rum and wine businesses.
To fight drug cartels in Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, De la Espriella proposes a military alliance with the United States and Israel and the construction of mega-prisons, while also defending the right to bear arms.
“Any criminal who does not surrender will be brought down as the law allows,” he told AFP in an interview in February.
Calling himself “Tiger”, the candidate has a penchant for cursing and is known for his hot temper.
He called for the Colombian left to be “destroyed,” but later softened his language.
He has also made comments considered homophobic and sexist and often refers to his “balls”.
– The survivor –
Ivan Cepeda first appeared in public in 1994, in his early 30s, next to the corpse of his father, a communist senator who was killed by paramilitaries.
Standing in front of a bullet-riddled truck, his call for justice was televised.
“Let this crime not go unpunished,” Cepeda told reporters in a measured tone, during a period of persecution that saw more than 5,700 leftist leaders killed.
The 63-year-old previously lived in exile in the former Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Cuba and France.
After returning to Colombia, he defended victims of the armed conflict and played a key role in the landmark 2016 peace deal that led to the disarmament of the FARC rebel army – once the country’s largest armed group.
His opponents accuse him of having ties to the FARC and blame him for drafting outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” plan.
“I survived genocide, stigmatization and relentless persecution. And here I am, still standing,” he said during the campaign.
Usually dressed in a traditional Caribbean shirt, Cepeda forgoes a tie, which he considers a symbol of the oligarchy.
The senator led the investigation into former president Uribe’s ties to paramilitaries before going to court, where Uribe became the first Colombian leader to be convicted of a crime last year.
Although a judge later overturned the decision, the incident established Cepeda as the right-wing leader’s main political enemy and an icon of the left.
