Colombian president-elect gives armed groups 1 month to surrender

BOGOTA: Colombia’s hard-right president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella on Thursday gave the country’s guerrilla groups one month to surrender, taking a tough stand on an issue that helped propel him to victory.

De la Espriella won Sunday’s tightly-fought presidential election by less than a percentage point as Colombia endures its highest levels of violence in a decade.

“To all those acting outside the law, you have one month to arrange your submission,” the millionaire lawyer said in his first speech since official results confirmed his electoral win.

“In my administration, there will be no generous offers or unacceptable concessions like those they received from the regime that is coming to an end,” he added, in reference to the outgoing administration that favored dialogue with armed groups.

During the campaign, he told AFP he wanted to conduct bombing campaigns against guerrillas and construct “mega-prisons” like those of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.

The 47-year-old’s victory marks the end of Colombia’s first-ever leftist government led by president Gustavo Petro.

The president-elect once called for the left to be “gutted” but later toned down his words.

Defeated leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda has warned that the left will resort to “peaceful civil disobedience” if necessary, while distancing himself from post-election violence following Sunday’s results.

De la Espriella also plans to forge a military alliance with the US and Israel to achieve his aims.

In an X post on Wednesday, he said Colombia and Israel would share a relationship “like never before” after speaking with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar.

He called his win at the polls an “epic triumph” during Thursday’s speech.

“It came from the people, against the parties, against political scheming, and against the establishment,” he said, adding: “I will not let you down.”

In a report published Thursday, the UN said drug crops in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, increased by 3.5% in 2024 as compared to the previous year.

Petro tried unsuccessfully to negotiate peace with criminal groups, but experts say guerrillas used the talks to grow in strength.