Abelardo de la Espriella on Sunday narrowly defeated Iván Cepeda in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election.

De la Espriella, a far-right lawyer who has praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, beat Sen. Iván Cepeda, a member of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact party, by a 49.7-48.7 percent margin. De la Espriella will take office on Aug. 7.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday spoke with De la Espriella, who has pledged to end so-called “gender ideology” in Colombia, and congratulated him on his victory.

“This result reflects the will of the Colombian people and their commitment to democracy,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott in a statement. “The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries. Through our close bilateral cooperation, and under the leadership of President-elect De la Espriella, Colombia’s best days are ahead.”   

The election’s first round took place on June 1.

Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López, a centrist who ran as an independent, finished fifth. She would have become Colombia’s first female and first lesbian president if she had won the election.

De la Espriella and Cepeda faced off in the runoff because neither received a majority of votes in the first round.

Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López on Sunday finished fifth in the first round of Colombia’s presidential election.

López, a centrist who ran as an independent, received 225,517 votes. This figure is .95 percent of the total votes cast.

López was the Colombian capital’s mayor from 2020-2023. She was a member of the Colombian Senate from 2014-2018. López, whose wife is outgoing Colombian Sen. Angélica Lozano, would have become the country’s first female and first lesbian president if she would have won the election.

The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute honored López in D.C. in 2024.

“We need to listen to each other again, we need to have a coffee with each other again, we need to touch each other’s skin,” she told the Washington Blade during an interview. She hadn’t yet declared her candidacy, and did not specifically discuss her plans to run.

Runoff to take place June 21

Abrelardo de la Espriella, a far-right lawyer who has praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, on Sunday finished first with 43.74 percent of the vote. Senator Iván Cepeda, a member of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact party, came in second with 40.9 percent of the vote.

Neither men received a majority of votes. A runoff between them will take place on June 21.

Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López on Sunday won her primary in the race to succeed Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

López, a centrist who is running as an independent, defeated Leonardo Huerta in the “Consulta de las Soluciones” primary.

López was the Colombian capital’s mayor from 2020-2023. She was a member of the Colombian Senate from 2014-2018.

López is running to succeed Petro, the country’s first leftist president who cannot seek a second consecutive term under Colombia’s constitution. Other presidential candidates who won their respective parties’ primaries on Sunday include Sen. Iván Cepeda, a member of Petro’s Historic Pact party, and Sen. Paloma Valencia of the conservative Democratic Center, the country’s main opposition party that former President Álvaro Uribe leads.

Juan Daniel Oviedo, who finished second in the Democratic Center’s primary, is openly gay.

The first-round of Colombia’s presidential election will take place on May 31.

Polls indicate López is trailing Cepeda and Valencia, who are considered the two frontrunners.

A second round will take place is no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote on May 31. López would become Colombia’s first female and first lesbian president if she wins the election.

López’s wife loses Senate seat

Colombia’s congressional elections also took place on Sunday.

Former Congressman Mauricio Toro, a member of the center-left Green Alliance party, in 2018 became the first openly gay man elected to Colombian Congress when he won a seat in the House of Representatives.

He lost his reelection bid in 2022. Voters on Sunday elected Toro for a second term.

Congresswoman María del Mar Pizarro, a bisexual Historic Pact member, won re-election.

Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombian LGBTQ and intersex rights group, notes only two of the 33 openly LGBTQ congressional candidates won their respective races. Among those who lost is Sen. Angélica Lozano, a bisexual woman who in 2018 became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Colombian Senate.

Lozano is married to López.

Lozano in a message posted to her Instagram page expressed “heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their support and love.”

“I will end my work in Congress on a high note by ensuring (the) child support and service contractor protection bills will become a reality in June,” she said.

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