De la Espriella sworn in as Colombia’s leader, vows armed group crackdown

The new president, who replaces leftist Gustavo Petro, continues the rightward political shift in Latin America.Right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella has been sworn in as Colombia’s president after winning a run-off election on promises to crack down on armed groups, cut government spending by as much as 40 percent, and revive the South American country’s oil and gas industry.De la Espriella, 48, took the oath of office on Friday, breaking with tradition by holding the ceremony not in the capital, Bogota, but in Cali, a city in Colombia’s volatile southwest that has long borne the brunt of the government’s conflict with armed groups.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Colombia minister warns of ‘terrorism’ threat at presidential inaugurationlist 2 of 3At least 11 wounded by Colombia car bomb days before presidential electionlist 3 of 3Colombia’s Petro repeats vote fraud claims days before handing over powerend of listThe choice signalled a decisive break from the strategy of negotiated peace with those groups pursued by outgoing leftist leader Gustavo Petro, whom de la Espriella defeated in June’s run-off. De La Espriella has dismissed Petro’s policy as a failure.“There will be no room for manoeuvres that undermine the stability of the nation,” de la Espriella said on Friday, as he pledged to “relentlessly defeat narco-terrorism”.He added that “the option of dialogue is completely exhausted”.A political newcomer known to supporters as “El Tigre”, The Tiger, de la Espriella built his fortune and public profile as a lawyer and businessman rather than through elected office, largely self-financing his campaign as an outsider candidate.His arrival in power marks a sharp ideological reversal for a country that, for the past four years, was led by a former rebel fighter who was frequently critical of the drug and immigration policies of United States President Donald Trump.