A dramatic political shift has taken place in Colombia as right-wing populist candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, known as “El Tigre” (“The Tiger”), won the country’s presidential election after an exceptionally close race against left-wing candidate Senator Iván Cepeda.

According to official results, with more than 99% of the ballots counted, de la Espriella received 49.67% of the vote, compared to 48.69% for Cepeda. While the margin was razor-thin, election officials indicated that the lead was effectively insurmountable.

For Israel, the result represents a significant diplomatic development. De la Espriella is considered one of the strongest pro-Israel voices in Latin America and pledged during his campaign to immediately restore diplomatic relations with Jerusalem, which were severed under outgoing President Gustavo Petro. He also promised to relocate Colombia’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The victory marks the end of Petro’s left-wing administration—the first left-wing government in Colombia’s history—and the return of the political right after four years in opposition. De la Espriella campaigned as a tough anti-establishment candidate with a hardline security platform, drawing comparisons to El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei.

“We defeated the regime,” de la Espriella declared in his victory speech, delivered before thousands of cheering supporters in his hometown of Barranquilla after one of the most turbulent election campaigns Colombia has seen in recent years.

The campaign unfolded against a backdrop of political violence. De la Espriella frequently appeared in public wearing a bulletproof vest and speaking from behind armored glass. During the campaign, another conservative presidential candidate was murdered, along with two members of de la Espriella’s campaign team.

The outcome was welcomed by right-wing leaders across the Americas. According to reports, U.S. President Donald Trump personally called to congratulate the president-elect, saying that the candidate he supported had “won big.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with de la Espriella and offered his congratulations.

Israeli officials likewise welcomed the result. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel looks forward to working with the incoming president “to revive relations between Israel and Colombia” and added that he had invited de la Espriella to visit Israel.

The Colombian election is part of a broader trend of growing right-wing strength across Latin America, particularly in countries where voters have grown frustrated with left-wing governments over issues such as the cost of living, public security, and relations with the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, outgoing President Gustavo Petro and his left-wing allies claim the election was marred by irregularities that, in a shocking claim, “is Israel’s fault.”

After preliminary results gave right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella a narrow victory, Petro’s camp announced that it does not currently accept the outcome and is preparing a broad legal challenge involving tens of thousands of polling stations.

In a series of social media posts, Petro argued that the vote-counting system was vulnerable to manipulation and said he had warned about the issue long before election day. According to him, the software used by Colombia’s electoral authorities was flawed, and he had previously called for it to be replaced with publicly controlled software subject to independent expert review.

Petro now claims there are indications that the IP addresses of servers belonging to the National Registry were altered, which he says could point to a breach of the system and the insertion of fictitious data.

It was at that point that he turned his accusations toward Israel.

“The only entity in the world capable of doing this is the State of Israel,” Petro said.

The allegation is particularly serious and comes against the backdrop of Petro’s consistently hostile approach toward Israel during his presidency. Throughout the war and the diplomatic crisis with Jerusalem, Petro adopted a sharply anti-Israel position, severed diplomatic relations with Israel, and emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of Israeli policy in Latin America.

Colombia’s right-wing camp has rejected Petro’s claims outright, describing them as an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the political transition. Supporters of de la Espriella argue that with nearly all ballots counted, his lead is clear, while the losing side has already indicated it will await completion of the official certification process.

Nevertheless, the razor-thin margin—less than one percentage point separating the two candidates—is expected to make the coming days politically and legally tense.

If the results are officially confirmed, Colombia is likely to undergo a significant shift in foreign policy, moving from Petro’s openly anti-Israel stance to a pro-Israel and pro-American orientation under de la Espriella.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)