June 20, 2026
Tomorrow, Colombians return to the polls to choose their next president.
On paper, it is a domestic runoff between two candidates with opposite visions for the country. In practice, it has become something larger: a test of whether Colombians will choose their next president at the ballot box by themselves, or whether foreign powers will shape the final decision.
Some context. Colombia is governed today by Gustavo Petro, the country’s first leftist president, whose term ends this year. Tomorrow’s vote chooses his successor, and the two finalists could not be more different.
Iván Cepeda is a philosopher, senator from the governing coalition, and lifelong human rights advocate. He runs on a platform of continuity, pledging to carry Petro’s agenda further: redistribution of wealth funded by taxing the richest Colombians, an energy transition away from fossil fuels, agrarian reform, and a negotiated peace with the country’s armed groups.
Abelardo de la Espriella is a far-right lawyer and political newcomer. He promises a hardline, military-led security agenda, mass prisons modeled on those of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, and a 40% cut to public spending. He has pledged to align Colombia with U.S. security initiatives, and his campaign relies more on rallies, social media, and church networks than on detailed plans.
De la Espriella finished first by under three points. The race is genuinely open.
What happened after that first round sharpened the real question. In recent days, foreign figures have openly inserted themselves into Colombia’s campaign.
It began in Washington. President Trump posted his “Complete and Total Endorsement” on Truth Social, and de la Espriella answered on X, casting the two countries as “sister nations” bound to defend Western civilization. A chorus followed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom de la Espriella met privately this year, said Washington would be “very forceful in guaranteeing” a free and fair vote. U.S. Representative María Elvira Salazar urged Colombians to rally behind him, and U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, who watched the first round as an observer, is expected back for the runoff.
It did not stop there. Beyond Washington, de la Espriella has secured the unconditional support of other leaders including Presidents Daniel Noboa of Ecuador, José Antonio Kast of Chile and Argentina’s Javier Milei, who interpreted the result as a rejection of the “failed socialist model” and said the forces of freedom across the region were watching and lending their support. From Madrid, Vox leader Santiago Abascal said Colombians could recover the “sovereignty taken from them.”
Each framed it the same way: as a defense of Colombia’s freedom and even its sovereignty.
That is the contradiction at the heart of this election. Sovereignty and freedom are not gifts foreign politicians can hand a country by meddling in its vote. They are the very things such interference denies. Nor is this happening in isolation. Since President Donald Trump reshaped American politics, a familiar style has spread: elections become contests to be won by any means, opponents are cast as enemies, and institutions are treated as obstacles. That style is no longer staying home. It is carried across borders by a networked right, by officials willing to amplify it, and by compliant allies in the region eager to satisfy Washington for their own gain. This weekend, Colombia is where the line is drawn.
Still, the decision belongs to Colombians alone, and not everyone abroad has forgotten that. In Washington, House Democrats led by Rep. Jim McGovern condemned the endorsements as an “insult” to Colombian sovereignty, insisting the country’s future belongs to its own voters. In Brussels, members of the European Parliament formally condemned Trump’s open backing of de la Espriella and his branding of Cepeda as a “radical leftist Marxist,” urging the EU to reject any attempt — political, diplomatic, economic, or rhetorical — to interfere in the vote. Electoral processes, they wrote, belong solely to citizens; self-determination, sovereignty, and non-interference apply to every country regardless of its politics or strategic value.
Tomorrow, the world will be watching Colombia. What happens will echo across Latin America in every debate about sovereignty, democracy, and whether progressive governments can survive and transfer power under mounting external pressure.
Global Exchange will be there throughout, standing with local partners and amplifying Colombian voices. Our colleagues at Rompeviento TV are reporting live from the ground. Follow them, and us, for results and analysis:
Instagram: @globalexchange
YouTube: @RompevientoTV
Tomorrow, Colombians decide. The only question is whether they will be allowed to do so freely.