Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia's president on Aug. 7, 2026, in Cali, immediately signaling a dramatic reversal of the country's environmental commitments and a return to fossil fuel extraction that climate advocates warn could undermine years of progress. The ceremony took place under heavy security in Colombia's volatile southwest, breaking with tradition in a move meant to emphasize his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups.
The new administration's energy agenda represents a sharp break from former President Gustavo Petro, who stopped awarding new oil and gas exploration contracts while pushing Colombia toward renewable energy and making protection of the Amazon a centerpiece of his environmental agenda. Just four months ago, Petro's government hosted an international summit in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta aimed at building support for a global transition away from fossil fuels.
Fracking and Fossil Fuels Return
De la Espriella confirmed his government would authorize fracking under what he described as "the strictest technical and environmental standards." He pledged to revive Colombia's oil and gas sector, restore state-owned energy company Ecopetrol and strengthen the electricity system, saying energy security would be a cornerstone of his administration. He said his administration would expand oil and gas exploration to rebuild Colombia's declining reserves, guarantee the country's energy security and attract investment back into the sector.
"I believe in the energy transition," he said. "But that transition must be built from strength, not from weakness, from self-sufficiency and not from dependence." He called energy security "a matter of national sovereignty" and said Colombia could not expect long-term prosperity by leaving its natural resources undeveloped.
He said rebuilding Ecopetrol, Colombia's majority state-owned oil company and one of the country's largest sources of government revenue and export earnings, would be "a definitive and absolute priority" after accusing the previous administration of weakening the company. He warned that Colombia's energy system was in a "critical situation," citing declining oil and gas reserves, delayed energy projects and rising electricity demand. He said the approaching El Nino weather phenomenon, which typically brings prolonged drought and can reduce hydroelectric power generation, meant there was little time to act. "The El Nino phenomenon won't wait for us. To overcome it, it is imperative to implement urgent solutions," he said.
U.S. Security Partnership and Regional Shift
The United States plans to announce $1 billion in security assistance to support de la Espriella's administration, as part of a security package discussed with Congress. The U.S. State Department framed the aid as a cornerstone of a renewed partnership with the new government. De la Espriella's most pressing concern is likely to be security, an issue that even more than economics has helped propel conservative gains across Latin America. He's promised to build mega-prisons as part of a tough-on-crime approach to violence and Colombia's guerilla groups.
The new president's rise fits into a broader regional shift. Conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella joins Javier Milei, Chile's José Antonio Kast and Peru's Keiko Fujimori in a broad regional shift to the right. He prevailed by the slimmest of margins after campaigning on the fiscal austerity of Argentina's Javier Milei, the hard-line security policies of El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and a close alignment with Donald Trump.
Governing Challenges Ahead
He's inheriting one of the region's toughest governing tasks, facing a widening budget deficit, accelerating inflation, high interest rates and a deteriorating security situation driven by record coca production that's strengthening armed rebel groups. Ahead of his inauguration, half of Colombians said they viewed him negatively, while 45% held a positive view, according to LatAm Pulse. He scored a boost last month when Latin American development bank CAF offered US$9 billion in financing that will help ease fiscal pressure. But he also suffered a setback when his coalition lost a tussle for Senate leadership, demonstrating his lack of a majority that would help smooth the way for his legislative ambitions.
"These right-wing governments are stuck in a dilemma that isn't easy to resolve," said Sandra Borda, a professor at Bogota's Universidad de los Andes. While they represent business interests that "demand strict discipline in public spending," they also "fully understand that rolling back any of the subsidies or social programs created by left-wing governments would create very serious governability problems."
Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, said of the region's crop of conservative leaders: "They were quite effective at showing how left-of-centre governments had failed to address crime, or were ignoring crime. But now they actually have the responsibility of meaningfully reducing violence."
For decades, dismantling the organised crime networks that operate throughout the Americas has proved far more difficult than campaign trail rhetoric suggests. Trump and the US have promised to help. But proximity to the US president may also pose risks. Washington gave Milei a $20 billion financial backstop ahead of a closely-fought midterm election last year, is offering technical support to De la Espriella on the fiscal front and has formed a new coalition regional partners to fight drug trafficking.
Trump, however, remains broadly unpopular even in nations like Colombia, where he endorsed De la Espriella ahead of June's runoff. More than half of Colombians, 54%, hold a negative view of the US leader, against 34% who see him positively, LatAm Pulse found. Majorities in Chile and Argentina also rate him poorly, according to the survey.
Sergio Guzmán, founder of Bogota-based consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis, said leaders like De la Espriella may not be able to count on Trump if they get in trouble. "The US previously treated the region with a greater degree of generosity, but it will be too preoccupied with its own domestic priorities to throw Latin America a lifeline," Guzmán said. "What we saw with Milei was really the exception rather than the rule."
AtlasIntel surveyed 2,191 people in Colombia, 982 people in Peru, 1,120 people in Argentina and 1,801 people in Chile between July 30 and August 3. The Colombia and Chile polls have a margin of error of 2 percentage points. The Peru and Argentina surveys have a margin of error of three percentage points.
Why This Matters:
De la Espriella's abrupt reversal on climate policy comes at a critical moment when global efforts to limit warming require accelerated transitions away from fossil fuels, not renewed extraction. His authorization of fracking and expansion of oil and gas exploration threatens Colombia's biodiversity hotspots and indigenous communities while locking the country into decades more carbon emissions. The shift also undermines international climate cooperation that Colombia helped lead just months ago. Meanwhile, the administration's reliance on U.S. security assistance and alignment with an unpopular American president could limit its governing flexibility, particularly if Trump's support proves conditional. With half the country viewing de la Espriella negatively and no legislative majority, his ability to deliver on promises while managing economic pressures and protecting social programs remains uncertain. The regional rightward shift he represents hasn't yet proven it can address the violence and inequality that plague Latin America's working families.