Colombia’s voters on Sunday elected a Donald Trump-endorsed right-wing businessman in a presidential runoff, ending a period of left-wing rule that coincided with the country’s worst security crisis in decades.
Abelardo de la Espriella proposed bombing gang-held territory and building 10 El Salvador-style megaprisons, while his opponent, the leftist ruling-party senator Iván Cepeda, had pledged to continue negotiating with armed groups under President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” strategy.
Latin America has lurched rightward in recent elections, as governments scramble to curtail violence stemming from record cocaine production.
Under pressure from Washington, Mexico’s president has foregone her predecessor’s “hugs, not bullets” approach in favor of direct military confrontation with cartels.
