Progressive Candidate Concedes to Trump-Backed Outsider in Colombian Presidential Election

Progressive candidate Ivan Shapira on Wednesday conceded Colombia's presidential election to Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative outsider who was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. I've decided to accept the result that emerges from this process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the republic, he said. Election results showed de la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never run for office, defeated Cepeda, a lawmaker, by one percentage point or nearly 251,000 votes. The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro's government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups under a plan known as Total Peace.