The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has extended his congratulations this Monday to Abelardo de la Espriella for his triumph in the Colombian presidential elections, after achieving 49.6% of the votes against the continuity candidate, Iván Cepeda.
"Congratulations to 'El Tigre' Abelardo de la Espriella, the new president of Colombia! It was a great honor for me to endorse him, and I look forward to working together to build a strong relationship between Colombia and the United States, which will bring new levels of greatness to both countries," he stated on his social media.
That same day, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno traveled to the Colombian city of Barranquilla to personally congratulate De la Espriella, in a meeting where he applauded the "epic victory" of the far-right leader.
"We spoke at length about illegal immigration and he immediately agreed that any Colombian citizen seeking asylum should return to Colombia and that he would guarantee their safety and protection," he stated on his social media about the meeting with the man nicknamed 'El Tigre'.
"Let it be clear: the United States welcomes immigrants who arrive legally, who do not file false asylum claims, who undergo an exhaustive selection process, who learn our language, who integrate, and who do not undermine our foreign policy. Coming to the United States is a privilege, not a right," Moreno concluded.
De la Espriella, for his part, has celebrated on his official profiles that, with the election results, "the time has come (for Colombia) to rise again."
"Today a new stage begins for our nation. A stage in which we believe in ourselves again, in our ability to move forward, and in the strength of a people who never gave up, even in the most difficult moments," he said, before assuring that the country will henceforth be "the homeland of all and for all."
In this regard, he urged to "build a Colombia where no one is left behind, where security, opportunities, freedom, and hope once again become the path to unite Colombians" and stressed that his triumph "does not belong to a party or a campaign" but to "all" the people.
According to the provisional recount, the opposition candidate has won the second round of the presidential election with 49.6% of the ballots, a lead of just 250,000 votes over the heir apparent of Petro, Iván Cepeda, who has described this data as "unofficial" and has stated that at least 33,000 polling stations will be challenged.