Colombia Holds Presidential Runoff Between Leftist and Conservative Candidates

Colombia holds its presidential runoff on Sunday as violence and forced displacement shape the contest between left-wing senator Iván Cepeda and conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella. Edilma Martinez Flores said her brother was murdered for not paying an extortion payment in front of his children.

She fled her home on the outskirts of Cali after armed criminal groups distributed leaflets ordering residents to leave or face violence, and she reported that armed groups placed bombs along travel routes after she left.

Illegal armed groups in Colombia have roughly doubled their membership in the last five years. A brutal offensive between the ELN and FARC dissidents near the Venezuela-Colombia border last year displaced tens of thousands of people. A presidential candidate was assassinated during the current campaign.

Iván Cepeda is described as the architect of President Gustavo Petro's total peace strategy. He played a key role in the 2016 peace deal that disarmed thousands of FARC fighters. He has pledged social transformations that the country urgently cries out for while promising to take stock of the peace strategy and make the necessary changes.

Abelardo de la Espriella has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. U.S. citizen. He has promised to build 10 mega-prisons and stated that any criminal who does not surrender will be taken down.

President Donald Trump stated that if Abelardo de la Espriella wins, Colombia will have the total support and strength of the United States behind him. President Donald Trump called Iván Cepeda a radical left Marxist. Isabelita Mercado Pineda stated that displacements have not been seen at this level for the last two decades.