Colombia's conservative president takes office in Cali, citing Jefferson and vowing to restore order
Abelardo de la Espriella, a 48-year-old conservative lawyer who ran as a pro-Trump ally, was inaugurated as Colombia's president Friday in a historic ceremony held outside Bogotá for the first time in over 200 years, and his predecessor refused to show up.De la Espriella took the oath of office at approximately 4:30 p.m. local time at the Arena USC amphitheater on the campus of the University of Cali, breaking with more than two centuries of tradition that placed every Colombian inauguration in the capital.
Senate leader Honorio Miguel Henríquez Pineda administered the oath, presented the presidential sash, and delivered a speech outlining the challenges the new administration inherits. De la Espriella then swore in José Manuel Restrepo as vice president.
The choice of Cali, the capital of the southwestern state of Valle del Cauca and one of the regions hardest hit by armed groups, was deliberate. De la Espriella told Colombian magazine Semana he picked the city as a "symbolic" gesture of his administration's promise to fight criminal and terrorist organizations.
The symbolism carried weight: earlier in the week, police intercepted a bus loaded with 420 kilograms of explosives near Cali, a plot allegedly led by a FARC commander.
Conservative becomes President of Columbia
