Trump congratulates Colombia's newly elected president

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was pleased that candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, whom he had supported, won Colombia’s presidential runoff.

Trump commented on the election results in a post on his Truth Social platform. "He won big," he said.

De la Espriella won following a razor-thin finish, according to preliminary results by the National Civil Registry.

With 99.93% of the ballots tallied in the rapid pre-count system, De la Espriella, representing the Defensores de la Patria party, secured 49.65% of the vote, narrowly defeating Senator Ivan Cepeda of the ruling leftist Pacto Historico coalition, with 48.7%.

The tight margin left a gap of less than 248,000 votes, triggering an immediate institutional standoff over who will govern the South American nation for the 2026-2030 term.

Both outgoing President Gustavo Petro and Cepeda have refused to recognize the verdict as final, citing voting irregularities and launching a massive legal challenge to contest tens of thousands of polling stations.