Abelardo De la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who narrowly won Colombia’s presidential runoff Sunday, holds US citizenship, has lived in Miami for years and raised four children born in the United States.
De la Espriella, 47, naturalized as a US citizen in 2023. Much of his business interests and even his brief career as a singer took shape in this country. He is set to take office Aug. 7.
The South Florida connection runs deep.
According to Colombian media reports, De la Espriella and his wife own a home in Pinecrest valued at roughly $5 million. Documents published by the outlet Cuestión Pública show he also held a Brickell apartment between 2014 and 2020. Between 2013 and 2023, he created or appeared in records for 14 companies registered in Florida, ranging from a subsidiary of his law firm, De la Espriella Lawyers Enterprise Inc., to a Coral Gables restaurant that closed in 2025 after two years of operation.
His ties to Miami go back even further. Political biographer Ángel Beccassino wrote that as a university student, De la Espriella traveled frequently to Miami and New York to sell emeralds. The president-elect told Beccassino he stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and ordered lobster salad.
On Feb. 17, 2023, De la Espriella posted a photo on Instagram holding an American flag in one hand and his naturalization certificate in the other. “My four children were born here. I have been very happy in this land beside them and my beloved wife,” he wrote.
His dual citizenship became a flash point in the final stretch of the campaign. Outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who himself holds Italian citizenship, called on De la Espriella to renounce his US citizenship, arguing it requires loyalty to the United States above Colombia. Colombia’s constitution does not bar dual citizens from the presidency, though some legal scholars have argued US citizenship specifically may be incompatible with the office.
De la Espriella defeated left-wing Senator Iván Cepeda by less than one percentage point – 49.7% to 48.7% – in Sunday’s runoff. He was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who called him “El Tigre” in a post on Truth Social after the results came in.
(With information from BBC and Key Biscayne Portal)
Abelardo De la Espriella, who narrowly won Sunday’s runoff, naturalized in 2023 and has deep South Florida ties