"U.S. Asset": Colombia's Bukele Takes Power
Colombia just elected a Trump-admiring right-wing outsider, a shift that's bad for the Colombian left and a likely win for US business interests.
- Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly won Colombia's closest-ever presidential election, beating the candidate backed by outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro.
- The new president is a former lawyer for drug traffickers and paramilitaries, a registered US Republican who voted for Trump and hasn't lived in Colombia for a decade.
- He plans to privatize state companies and fire a big share of government workers, blending styles from Trump, El Salvador's Bukele, and Argentina's Milei.
- Petro raised wages and passed labor reforms, but gutted the state oil company and let gas and energy prices soar, which hurt ordinary people and cost the left support.
- Mexico's left stayed popular by keeping energy affordable and cracking down hard on crime — the opposite of Petro's approach.
Outlook: The new government's plan to privatize and slash jobs is expected to spark mass protests within months, following the pattern of other right-wing governments in the region.