Colombia's newly inaugurated president, Abelardo de la Espriella, used his first day in office on Friday to announce a sweeping reversal of his predecessor's energy and security policies, pledging to revive the country's oil and gas industry and declaring war on "narco-terrorism" as the United States committed $1 billion in security assistance to back his administration.
De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer who had never previously held elected office, took the presidential oath after a campaign built on public anger and fear over Colombia's worsening security situation, according to CBS News. He earned an endorsement from President Trump during that campaign despite his political inexperience, and he holds dual U.S. and Colombian citizenship.
In his inaugural address, de la Espriella pledged to "relentlessly defeat narco-terrorism," telling the country that "the option of dialogue is completely exhausted," a direct rebuke of former President Gustavo Petro's stalled peace talks with armed guerrilla groups, CBS News reported. De la Espriella has floated bombing jungle cocaine labs, building so-called mega-prisons, and shrinking the size of the Colombian state. He has also offered to host U.S. troops on Colombian soil, signaling a dramatically closer security relationship with Washington than existed under Petro.
That closer relationship was underscored within hours of the inauguration, when the United States announced it intends to work with Congress to deliver $1 billion in security assistance to Colombia. A U.S. statement described the funding as "a cornerstone of this renewed partnership," framing it as support for de la Espriella's administration in achieving shared counternarcotics and security goals, CBS News reported.
The pledge marks a sharp turnaround in U.S.-Colombia relations, which had grown strained over the past four years under Petro, Colombia's first leftist president. Petro's government promoted what it called a paradigm shift in the global fight against drug trafficking and pursued negotiations with armed groups that ultimately produced little progress. Colombia has long been Washington's top counternarcotics ally and one of its most significant trade partners in the Western Hemisphere, a relationship CBS News notes had been repeatedly tested by diplomatic disputes during Petro's tenure. With de la Espriella in office, the Trump administration now has what CBS News described as an eager ally in Bogota.
Energy Policy Reversal
Beyond security, de la Espriella used his inauguration speech to lay out a starkly different energy agenda than the one Petro pursued, according to ABC News. He pledged to revive Colombia's oil and gas sector, restore the state-owned energy company Ecopetrol, and strengthen the country's electricity system, calling energy security a cornerstone of his presidency.
"I believe in the energy transition," de la Espriella said, referring to the broader global shift away from oil, gas and coal toward renewable sources like wind and solar. "But that transition must be built from strength, not from weakness, from self-sufficiency and not from dependence."
The comments represent a direct repudiation of Petro's environmental agenda. Petro had halted the awarding of new oil and gas exploration contracts, pushed Colombia toward renewable energy, and made protection of the Amazon rainforest a centerpiece of his government. Just four months before de la Espriella's inauguration, Petro's administration hosted an international summit in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta aimed at rallying global support for moving away from fossil fuels, ABC News reported.
De la Espriella framed his approach differently, describing energy security as "a matter of national sovereignty" and arguing that Colombia cannot achieve long-term prosperity while leaving its natural resources undeveloped. He said rebuilding Ecopetrol, the majority state-owned oil company that serves as one of Colombia's largest sources of government revenue and export earnings, would be "a definitive and absolute priority," accusing Petro's administration of weakening the company during its time in office.
Fracking and Declining Reserves
The new president confirmed his government will authorize fracking, the extraction method that injects water, sand and chemicals underground to crack rock formations and release oil and gas, which Petro's administration had resisted. De la Espriella said the practice would proceed under what he called "the strictest technical and environmental standards." He also said his administration would expand oil and gas exploration to rebuild Colombia's declining reserves, guarantee energy security, and draw investment back into a sector that has lost momentum in recent years.
De la Espriella described Colombia's energy system as being in a "critical situation," pointing to declining oil and gas reserves, delayed energy projects, and rising electricity demand as evidence the country cannot afford further delay. He also cited the approaching El Nino weather pattern, which typically brings prolonged drought to the region and can significantly reduce hydroelectric power generation, a major source of Colombia's electricity.
"The El Nino phenomenon won't wait for us," de la Espriella said. "To overcome it, it is imperative to implement urgent solutions."
The twin announcements on energy and security, delivered within the first day of his term, indicate the scale of the policy shift de la Espriella intends to pursue after Petro's single term. Where Petro emphasized dialogue with armed groups and a retreat from fossil fuels, de la Espriella is positioning his government around military pressure on trafficking networks, expanded U.S. security cooperation, and a return to oil and gas as the backbone of state revenue.
Whether Congress ultimately approves the full $1 billion in assistance the U.S. has floated, and how quickly de la Espriella can reverse the contraction in Colombia's oil and gas reserves cited in his own remarks, will likely shape the early test of his administration. For now, both governments have signaled a reset in a relationship that had cooled considerably over the past four years, with de la Espriella's inauguration serving as the clearest marker yet of Colombia's rightward turn.
