BOGOT脕, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Tough-on-crime outsider Abelardo de la Espriella took the lead in Colombia’s presidential race in the first round of voting Sunday night, setting up a runoff with Iv谩n Cepeda, an ally of Colombia鈥檚 outgoing who questioned the results of the election.
With no candidate taking an outright majority of the vote, the election will head to a second round in June.
But Cepeda and Petro sowed doubt in the results of the first round, claiming without evidence that hundreds of thousands of votes were manipulated and that foreign actors manipulated the results of the election.
Cepeda said he was waiting for electoral authorities to scrutinize the results before accepting the election.
鈥淥nly when the vote-counting commissions have fully clarified what happened will we comment on tonight鈥檚 results,鈥� Cepeda said, though he acknowledged the vote was likely going to a second round.
Cepeda won 41% of the vote, while de la Espriella won 44% of the votes, with 99.98% of the results counted by electoral authorities.
Cepeda is a progressive senator who has promised to carry on a by negotiating peace pacts with guerrillas and criminal gangs. He was consistently leading polls in the run up to the Sunday vote, but in the weeks leading up to the election de la Espriella rapidly gained support with a promise that he would crack down on armed groups.
The neck-and-neck results likely spell trouble for Cepeda in the run-off election, as de la Espriella is expected to scoop up support from voters who threw their support behind another conservative candidate in the first round.
De la Espriella 鈥� a newcomer known as El Tigre, or 鈥淭he Tiger鈥� 鈥� has sought to portray himself as a supporter of U.S. President .
鈥淟et the United States of America and democratic parties monitor this runoff election. I will lead this battle; I will be Colombia鈥檚 best warrior,” de la Espriella said in an impassioned speech Sunday night, pounding his chest behind bullet-proof glass in front of supporters.
Colombian voters are weighing peace deals or a crackdown
Voters across Latin America are aimed at addressing the root issues of conflict, such as lack of opportunities for young people and corruption. Instead, voters have increasingly turned to candidates promising .
The polarized vote comes as the Trump administration is playing a more aggressive role in Latin America than any U.S. government in decades, placing mounting pressure on countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Ecuador to crack down on crime.
The election has also underscored two sharply diverging visions for the future of peace in a country marked by years of conflict.
On one side, Cepeda has promised to continue Petro鈥檚 progressive agenda and a largely failed effort to negotiate peace pacts with armed groups, following a plan that鈥檚 likely to sharply contrast with Trump鈥檚 vision for Latin America.
On the other side, de la Espriella has promised to fiercely crack down on criminal groups and build 10 mega-prisons, echoing the war on gangs policy of El Salvador鈥檚 President Nayib Bukele, which has driven down homicide rates but fueled accusations of human rights abuses.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 election isn鈥檛 just important for us, it鈥檚 important for all of Latin America,鈥� said Juan Acevedo, a 62-year-old sociologist walking out of a voting station in Colombia鈥檚 capital on Sunday morning. 鈥淲hoever wins here will suggest to the region if progressive policies will continue or if things are going to return to the right.鈥�
Vote is seen as a referendum on Petro
The election 鈥� 10 years after signed an historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC 鈥� as seen as a referendum on Petro鈥檚 policies.
The deal a decade ago had offered hope to break the nation鈥檚 vicious cycle of fighting between rebel groups and the government. But violence has since roared back, in part because armed groups have taken advantage of peace negotiations with Petro’s government to make territorial gains.
That came to a head . Criminal groups have increasingly launched drone strikes, armed attacks have plagued the race and last June, 39-year-old politician and presidential hopeful was fatally shot at a political rally. Still, Cepeda and Petro have maintained strong support among many because of progressive policies pushed forward under Petro, such as boosting the minimum wage.
Both de la Espriella and Valencia have touted their affinity for Trump, though Valencia鈥檚 electoral loss dealt another blow to a once powerful political current known as Uribismo.
Colombians are divided on the way forward
Maria Eugenia, a 57-year-old seamstress on Friday in downtown Bogot谩, Colombia’s capital, said she welcomed an all-out offensive on an expanding slate of criminal groups, regardless of the human cost.
While she approved of Petro鈥檚 pushes to improve the country’s medical infrastructure, she said she was voting for de la Espriella because violence in rural areas of the country has gotten out of hand. She said negotiating peace pacts was effectively rewarding armed groups.
鈥淥f course, whenever you come down with a heavy hand, there鈥檚 always going to be debate,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut some people are going to have to fall to clean up what needs to be cleaned up.鈥�
Others, like Acevedo, the sociologist, said a security crackdown such as the one promoted by de la Espriella meant a return to past military campaigns that he said only reinforced Colombia’s cycle of violence.
He said he supports Cepeda, adding that while the government hasn’t done a perfect job 鈥� failing to pass ambitious reforms and follow through on promises to reduce violence 鈥� it was better to continue pushing forward with their political coalition’s efforts to take a different approach in addressing the country’s violence.
He added that his main critique of Petro’s administration was the power grabs made by criminal groups as they negotiated with the government. He said he hoped that if Cepeda won, he would strike a better balance between negotiating peace and maintaining control over those groups.
鈥淲e’re a country that has lived through 60 years of conflict,鈥� Acevedo said. 鈥淭he danger here is that we return to the times where everyone is saying that the only way to solve our problems is with bullets and more war.鈥�
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This story was first published on May 31, 2026. It was updated on Jun. 2, 2026 to correct the first name of the candidate to Abelardo instead of Aberaldo.
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