Abelardo de la Espriella took the oath of office as Colombia's president on Aug. 7, 2026, in Cali under heavy security, breaking with tradition by holding the ceremony outside the capital. The move signaled his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups in the country's volatile southwest. His daughter Francesca kissed him after the ceremony.
The United States plans to announce $1 billion in security assistance to support de la Espriella's administration, 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. It's a substantial commitment that reflects Washington's confidence in Colombia's pivot away from the policies of former President Gustavo Petro.
Energy Security as National Priority
De la Espriella signaled a sharp shift in energy policy. He pledged to revive Colombia's oil and gas sector, restore state-owned energy company Ecopetrol and strengthen the electricity system. Energy security, he said, would be a cornerstone of his administration.
"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 couldn't expect long-term prosperity by leaving its natural resources undeveloped. 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 he accused the previous administration of weakening the company.
De la Espriella confirmed his government would authorize fracking under what he described as "the strictest technical and environmental standards." 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. 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.
The approaching El Niño weather phenomenon, which typically brings prolonged drought and can reduce hydroelectric power generation, meant there was little time to act. "The El Niño phenomenon won't wait for us. To overcome it, it is imperative to implement urgent solutions," he said.
Breaking from Petro's Approach
The remarks marked 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. 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.
De la Espriella's rise fits into a broader regional shift. The conservative lawyer 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.
Tough Governing Challenges
He's inheriting one of the region's toughest governing tasks. Colombia faces 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 $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.
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 guerrilla groups. For decades, dismantling the organized crime networks that operate throughout the Americas has proved far more difficult than campaign trail rhetoric suggests.
"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."
Trump Factor and Regional Dynamics
Trump and the US have promised to help. 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 with 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:
Colombia's energy policy reversal carries significant fiscal and economic implications. Ecopetrol generates substantial government revenue and export earnings that fund public services and service debt obligations. De la Espriella's decision to authorize fracking and expand exploration addresses the country's declining reserves and dependence on imported energy, which drains foreign exchange and undermines sovereignty. The $1 billion US security package and $9 billion CAF financing provide crucial support as Colombia confronts a widening budget deficit and security crisis fueled by record coca production. Whether de la Espriella can balance fiscal discipline with existing social programs while delivering on security promises will test the viability of the region's conservative turn. His success or failure in attracting investment back to the energy sector and reducing violence will shape Colombia's economic trajectory and influence neighboring countries watching this policy experiment closely.