The Argentine president, Javier Milei, congratulated the elected president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, after winning the presidential runoff held this Sunday.
The Colombian right-wing leader managed to win the runoff and will become the new head of state for the 2026-2030 term, defeating Iván Cepeda, the representative of the current government of the communist Gustavo Petro.
Through his social media, Milei celebrated the electoral result with an emphatic message: “THE LION AND THE TIGER ROAR IN LATIN AMERICA...!!! I greatly congratulate Abelardo de la Espriella for his historic victory in Colombia. Today the majority of Colombians chose the path of economic freedom, prosperity, unyielding security, and saying enough to transnational organized crime and drug trafficking.”
Javier Milei and Abelardo de la Espriella
In the same vein, the Argentine president added: “Freedom is advancing throughout Latin America and there is no turning back. LONG LIVE FREEDOM DAMN IT...!!!”.
According to the official count from the National Civil Registry, De la Espriella received 12,842,300 votes, which represents 49.71% of the total, with 98.91% of the polling stations counted. In this way, he surpassed the candidate from the ruling party, Iván Cepeda, who had the backing of Gustavo Petro.
In the first round, the now-elected president had already led the contest with 10,361,499 votes (43.74%), while Cepeda had reached 9,688,361 votes (40.90%), which anticipated a close outcome in the runoff.
Javier Milei and Abelardo de la Espriella
This is not the first time Milei has expressed his support for De la Espriella. After the partial victory in the first round, the Argentine president had stated that the result reflected “the yearning for freedom and progress of the Colombian people” and an “expressed will to say enough to the failed socialist model.”
De la Espriella based his campaign on a discourse focused on security, the fight against organized crime, and the rejection of “political castes.” His proposal included hardline measures, strengthening the armed forces, and building high-security mega-prisons, in line with models applied in other countries in the region.
During the campaign, the Colombian leader also expressed ideological affinity with international figures such as Javier Milei, Nayib Bukele, and Donald Trump, highlighting the need for a change in direction regarding economic and security matters in Colombia.
