Iván Cepeda and Abelardo de la Espriella, presenting contrasting visions for Colombia’s security, drug, and peace agendas, will compete in the presidential runoff this weekend.
Cepeda, a left‑wing senator, philosopher, and peace advocate, will challenge De la Espriella, a lawyer and businessman who admires former U.S. President Donald Trump and pledges unrestricted authority for security forces against illegal groups.
Security remains a paramount concern for Colombian voters, as evidenced by the first‑round election on May 31, where centrist candidates focusing on unrelated social issues captured less than 6 % of the vote.
Voters face two stark choices on June 21. Cepeda vows to extend the Petro administration’s policies with modifications, while De la Espriella, who ousted traditional right‑wing parties in the first round, pledges to mobilize security forces against the nation’s extensive criminal networks, aligning with Washington‑endorsed doctrine.
Cepeda and De la Espriella on Security
These elections occur at a critical juncture for Colombia, with multiple conflict fronts active, security forces weakened, and strained relations with key security partners.
Recognizing that violence differs across regions, Cepeda advocates a geographically targeted security strategy, deploying forces and services to the most vulnerable areas—including ports, borders, and key illegal‑economy corridors—while bolstering the logistical, operational, technological, and intelligence capabilities of security personnel.
To counter criminal groups, Cepeda proposes dismantling their economic foundations via financial intelligence, rigorous investigations, tax and fiscal oversight, agile asset‑forfeiture mechanisms, and enhanced international cooperation.
Cepeda’s prison policy emphasizes rehabilitating inmates through social and labor reintegration programs and eradicating criminal economies and recruitment networks within prisons.
Abelardo de la Espriella pursues a hard‑line security strategy that entails a direct offensive against organized crime, with plans to rebuild security forces in rural and urban areas and to expand intelligence networks and modern technologies.
His plan also calls for rebuilding the prison system by constructing ten mega‑prisons in remote regions, echoing approaches taken by regional leaders such as Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei.
Finally, De la Espriella is exploring the restoration of security ties with the United States, which have soured in recent months due to disputes between Trump and Petro on security and drug policies, and he endorses the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy that demands measurable outcomes from Colombia.Cepeda and De la Espriella on Drug Policy
Colombia remains the world’s leading cocaine producer, keeping drugs at the forefront of the presidential debate.
President Petro’s drug policy diverged from conventional war‑on‑drugs tactics, deemphasizing small‑scale coca growers and instead targeting transnational criminal networks through seizures, destruction of production infrastructure, and expanded investigations into money laundering and corruption.
Nevertheless, the approach encountered significant obstacles, including U.S. opposition that resulted in Colombia’s decertification in drug‑control efforts in 2025.
Cepeda intends to continue this progressive trajectory, steering away from a purely prohibitionist stance.
He notes that these dynamics are embedded in an international geopolitical framework that treats drug issues as global security concerns, favors militarized responses, imposes disproportionate burdens on producer nations, and concentrates the greatest profits in international markets.
He proposes regulating drugs—starting with cannabis, with the option to extend regulation to coca leaf and opium poppy—while establishing regional alliances to counter money laundering and corruption that sustain transnational criminal networks.
De la Espriella centers his strategy on aerial eradication of coca crops, pledging to eliminate all coca hectares despite the Constitutional Court ban on glyphosate. He proposes using manual removal, drones, and artificial intelligence to destroy crops and labs, complemented by illicit‑crop substitution, though the implementation of substitution remains uncertain.
He asserts that the first step is to fumigate all sources of violence in Colombia—namely, the coca hectares.
De la Espriella argues that combating illegal economies is essential for restoring territorial control and weakening criminal structures. He supports targeting traffickers’ assets, expediting forfeiture, and using extradition to disrupt the drug trafficking chain, measures previously employed by successive administrations, including Petro’s, yet which have not halted the economies that fund illegal groups.Cepeda and De la Espriella on Peace Plans
The decision to continue or terminate negotiations with illicit groups under the Total Peace initiative has further polarized the candidates.
Cepeda keeps the possibility of dialogue with armed groups alive, distancing his approach from Total Peace. Responding to criticism of Petro’s initiative, he introduces “Integral Peace,” which seeks concrete, verifiable outcomes and requires clear commitments from groups to protect civilians and social leaders.
He declares that dialogue must not be exploited to bolster the military or economic power of armed groups, emphasizing that peace is founded on verifiable actions, not empty promises.
Cepeda advocates reviving the implementation of the Havana Accords by mobilizing state capacity, coordinating with the international community, and enhancing territorial participation.
De la Espriella bluntly states, “There will be no negotiations with criminals.” He pledges to end Petro’s Total Peace talks if elected, focusing instead on restoring territorial control through a robust security-first approach.
He describes Colombia as experiencing a security pandemic, with crime soaring and a true disaster unfolding, insisting that security must be restored by reasoned means or by force, all within constitutional bounds.
De la Espriella proposes direct military operations against Colombia’s principal organized‑crime groups and the dismantling of militias.
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