MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Colombians made history on Sunday as they voted for the country’s 48th president in a runoff election between left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda and right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.
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With 99.91% of the precincts counted, 49.65% of the votes were for De La Espriella, 47, and 48.7% of the votes were for Cepeda, 63, according to the Colombian National Registry’s latest report.
El Tiempo, the newspaper with the largest circulation in the country, declared: “Abelardo de la Espriella, President of Colombia, after winning the preliminary count; the National Registry confirms the robustness of the results.”
There were more than 250 precincts for the Colombian diaspora worldwide. In South Florida, Colombian voters cast their ballots in Coral Gables, Kendall, Hialeah, Coral Springs, and Weston.
“From the United States Congress, we congratulate the next President of the sister Republic of Colombia,” U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a supporter of De La Espriella, wrote on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed De La Espriella, a defense attorney and businessman who campaigned as “The Tiger,” and who is a fan of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
“Today, democracy wins,” De La Espriella told reporters in Spanish after he voted in Barranquilla.
U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a supporter of De La Espriella, was also in Barranquilla.
“We want a prosperous Colombia,” Salazar told reporters in Spanish. She later wrote a congratulatory message on X: “Colombians wrote a new page in the history of their country and sent a clear message: freedom, security, and opportunities remain stronger than the ideas that have failed in our hemisphere. The best is yet to come”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose four-year term ends on Aug. 7, endorsed Cepeda, a senator who is a political rival of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who served from 2002 to 2010.
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“Let us vote with calm and serenity, and may democracy triumph,” Cepeda told reporters in Spanish after he voted in Bogotá.
Cepeda campaigned as the candidate who wants to protect the environment, continue negotiations for the surrender of armed groups, and prioritize welfare programs.
“Neither can be proclaimed president,” Petro wrote on X. “It is the scrutiny that determines who is the president. I obey the judges. Calm among the citizenry, please. Reality gives us a country split down the middle, and foreign interference taking away our freedom.”
De La Espriella campaigned as the law-and-order candidate who wants to open mega prisons, cut corporate taxes, restart oil exploration and fracking, and cut social spending.
More than 41 million Colombians were eligible to vote, and over 26 million cast their ballots on Sunday, according to Colombian officials’ data.
The precincts in South Florida opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 4 p.m. Some voters carried flags, some wore their team’s yellow FIFA World Cup 2026 soccer jerseys, and some wore white to symbolize peace.
In Miami-Dade County, there were three precincts at the University of Miami’s Watsco Center, Miami Dade College’s Kendall campus gymnasium, and the Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment.
In Broward County, there were two precincts at Coral Springs High School and Cypress Bay High School’s gymnasium.
During the presidential election’s first round on May 31, De la Espriella had 43.73% of the votes when he qualified for the runoff against Cepeda, who had 40.91% of the votes. About 70% of the voters in the U.S. chose De La Espriella on May 31.
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For information about the election’s results, visit this page.
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