The next nation in our hemisphere to determine the political direction appears in Colombia, where MAGA aligned Albelardo Espriella is facing socialist aligned Ivan Cepeda, the favorite of the current socialist leadership.

Espirella has surged in support as the popular candidate amid promises to deliver El Salvador like criminal confrontations, and market capitalism rejection of socialist control similar to Argentina. Earlier this week President Trump endorsed Espirella  stating on social media: “Colombian Presidential Candidate, “El Tigre (THE TIGER),” Abelardo de la Espriella, is a Smart, Strong, and Tough Leader, who fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America.”

On the leftist side of the option, Iván Cepeda has pledged to continue the current socialist administration’s economic agenda and expand negotiations with drug traffickers and armed groups who operate vast criminal enterprises.  The move to align with cartels and gangs (they call the alignment ‘negotiation’) appears to come as a strategic effort to retain power.

(Los Angeles Times) – Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to crush criminal groups and slash government programs. He promises to bomb “narco-terrorist” camps and build sprawling mega prisons if he wins Sunday’s runoff election.

De la Espriella’s views have earned him the vociferous backing of President Trump, who has broken with White House tradition by publicly seeking to tip the scales in foreign elections — particularly in Latin America.

After Trump gave his “complete and total endorsement” to De la Espriella, whom he referred to by his nickname, “El Tigre,” the candidate posted an AI-generated image of a bald eagle and a tiger, with American and Colombian flags waving side by side.

“You have paved the way for the people to defeat the entrenched powers that have long held sway,” he wrote to Trump. “In Colombia, we have now begun to follow the same path.”

De la Espriella, a political newcomer who built his campaign around gym workout videos and vows to “disembowel” the left, is part of a new wave of far-right, MAGA-aligned politicians in Latin America openly borrowing from Trump’s playbook, presenting themselves as outsiders who will trim the government, curtail immigration and militarize law enforcement.

In a region that remains plagued by high crime and inequality after a decades-long period of leftist domination known as the “Pink Tide,” the playbook appears working.

More Latin Americans now identify with the right than at any time over the last two decades, according to polling firm Latinobarómetro. A series of conservatives have won presidential elections in recent years, giving Trump a slate of willing partners as he seeks to expand U.S. power in the region, combat drug cartels and counter growing Chinese influence.  (read more)

Polls in Colombia close at 4:00 p. m. (Colombia time). From that moment, the National Civil Registry begins the preliminary count, whose first bulletins are usually released within the first hour, with the virtually complete result available that same night. In the first round, the preliminary count was closed around 9:42 pm. {SOURCE}

4:00 pm in Colombia is the same time on the East Coast (EDT) and 1:00 p. m. on the West Coast (PDT). The official source is the National Civil Registry, at www.registraduria.gov.co, where the preliminary count is published in real time on election day.