Colombia: Trump ally De la Espriella takes office

Conservative Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia's president, promising to crack down on armed drug gangs.

The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as president of Colombia Friday amid tight security at a ceremony at a university in Cali.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took office Friday, vowing to wage war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States. The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the Andean nation, vowing to bomb jungle cocaine labs, build “mega prisons” and slash t

Abelardo de la Espriella is sworn in as Colombia’s president, promising to combat drug-running guerrillas and strengthen ties with the US.

BOGOTA, Aug 7 - Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella is set to be sworn in as Colombia's new president on Friday after pledging a hard line on security, drug trafficking and the economy.

An ally of Donald Trump, the new president, whose inauguration is scheduled for Friday, August 7, has pledged budget cuts, a 'moral reconstruction' grounded in Catholicism, and an 'iron fist' against guerrilla groups and drug trafficking.

An ally of Donald Trump, the new president, whose inauguration is scheduled for Friday, August 7, has pledged budget cuts, a 'moral reconstruction' grounded in Catholicism, and an 'iron fist' against guerrilla groups and drug trafficking.

Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as president of Colombia on Friday at a ceremony held at the Santiago de Cali University, outside Bogotá and without the attendance of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, in a handover marked by confrontation between the two men.

Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella takes office August 8, vowing to launch a war on drug gangs and cosy up to the United States. The former lawyer won June's run-off election by less than a percentage point. He's a right-wing populist in the mould of El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and Argentina's Javier Mil

Latin America’s right-wing wave reaches Colombia on Friday, but the country’s new president is about to discover that governing a deeply divided nation is far harder than winning an election.

Outgoing president of Colombia Gustavo Petro held a press conference on Monday in which he again claimed, against all public evidence, that the Colombian presidential election was "stolen" by President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, warning that "civil war" could erupt if the normal inauguration process continues.

The two sides explored new avenues to enhance collaboration, particularly in the air domain, as part of efforts to further strengthen the existing bilateral partnership