U.S. President Donald Trump. AP Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump openly endorsed Abelardo De La Espriella of the Homeland Defense Party, a hardline right-wing candidate who advanced to the Colombian presidential runoff.

On the 2nd, local time, President Trump posted on Truth Social, stating, “I sincerely congratulate candidate De La Espriella on his first-round victory in the presidential election.”

He described De La Espriella as “a smart, tough, and tenacious leader,” and wrote, “Like me, he fights tirelessly for our great country and loves the people.” He continued, “De La Espriella will achieve great success in leading Colombia in economic growth, job creation, trade promotion, the blocking of illegal immigration, the crackdown on crime and drugs, and the restoration of law and order.”

President Trump said, “The outcome of this election is very important to the future of Colombia and to its relations with the United States,” and added, “I am honored to extend my full support to candidate De La Espriella.” By contrast, regarding Ivan Cepeda Castro of the ruling left-wing coalition ‘Historic Pact,’ who will face him in the runoff on the 21st, he said he was “a radical left Marxist.”

In the first round of the Colombian presidential election held on the 31st of last month, De La Espriella took first place, overturning polling that had predicted a lead for Cepeda. He pledged hardline policies to eradicate crime, including building ten mega-prisons in the Amazon jungle.

This election drew attention as a watershed to gauge whether Colombia would join the rightward shift seen in other Latin American countries. Earlier, in Chile and Honduras, right-wing candidates with a pro-Trump bent were elected in succession.