Trump-backed Colombia Candidate Vows Closer US Ties

 

 

Bogotá : Colombia's hard-right presidential frontrunner on Tuesday promised much closer ties with the United States after receiving the backing of President Donald Trump. Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer campaigning as a tough-on-crime outsider, said relations with Washington would be "like never before" if he defeats leftist senator Ivan Cepeda in a June 21 runoff.

 

De la Espriella was the surprise winner of the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, held against the backdrop of a surge in drug-related guerrilla violence. He garnered over 43 percent -- compared to 41 percent for Cepeda -- with the law and order platform that has propelled right-wingers to power across Latin America. The third-placed candidate Paloma Valencia, a conservative, has thrown her support behind the right-wing showman, putting him in pole position to become the next president of one of Washington's closest South American allies.