MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia: De la Espriella takes office in Cali without Petro present

The 47-year-old criminal defense lawyer won the June 21 runoff against left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda, having never held public office or stood for election before

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.

The 47-year-old criminal defense lawyer won the June 21 runoff against left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda, having never held public office or stood for election before. He will govern until 2030 alongside Vice President José Manuel Restrepo, an economist and former trade and finance minister under Iván Duque.

Petro announced in July that he would neither attend nor shake his successor's hand, accusing him of reaching power through electoral fraud. He has presented no evidence to judicial authorities. National registrar Hernán Penagos Giraldo said on August 5 that there are no doubts about the results; the National Electoral Council upheld the count and the Council of State confirmed both the election and the inauguration venue. The outgoing president's absence does not affect the act's validity: the constitution requires the presence of Congress, not of the departing president.

The venue was disputed. De la Espriella had sought to be sworn in at a military garrison in the south of the country; Petro, as commander of the armed forces until the handover, barred the use of military facilities. Congress ultimately approved the university venue in Cali. The president-elect defended the choice as a sign of decentralization.

Cepeda said he would not attend either and announced peaceful civil disobedience actions, with demonstrations called for the same day. Security operations were deployed at Cali's airport and at key points in the city. Foreign delegations include the vice president of El Salvador.

The incoming government inherits deteriorating security across large areas, with armed groups financed by drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion, a substantial fiscal deficit and a crisis in the health system. De la Espriella has pledged to build large prisons, refuse negotiations with any armed group and secure the capture or death of five significant leaders within three months, as well as to cut the size of the state by 40% and lower taxes. He has said he will make Barranquilla an alternate capital and that Medellín and Cali will also serve as seats of government.

The designated cabinet combines technical profiles from the established right with figures close to Christian movements. The incoming president has spoken of prosecuting Petro and called the outgoing government coup-minded, accusing it without evidence of corruption. Before entering politics, De la Espriella was known for high-profile litigation and, according to El País, for having advised paramilitary groups in their negotiations with Álvaro Uribe's government more than twenty years ago.

The date coincides with the anniversary of the Battle of Boyacá, on which Colombian presidents traditionally take office.