COLOMBIA: Colombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella took office, vowing to launch a war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States.
The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the leftist-ruled Andean nation — vowing to bomb jungle cocaine labs, build 'mega-prisons' and slash the size of the state.
After four years of diplomatic spats with the United States, president Donald Trump will now have a keen ally in Bogota.
The 48-year-old President-elect holds dual US and Colombian citizenship, has offered to launch joint military operations and even host US troops on Colombian soil.
Keen to break with tradition, his inauguration will take place in the tropical southwestern Salsa capital of Cali, not at Congress in more buttoned down Bogota.
The choice is symbolic. Cali has been the scene of several guerrilla pipe bomb attacks in the last few years. Pockets of the countryside to the south of the city are still controlled by armed groups.
The authorities are launching a massive security campaign to protect the event, with 11,000 troops deployed, as well as an anti-drone system.
His narrow victory in a June run off ended four years of Colombia's first-ever leftist government.
"We are beginning a new era!" he declared in his victory speech, after beating leftist rival Ivan Cepeda by less than a percentage point.
Supporters hope De la Espriella will bring an iron fist when tackling crime and dissident armed groups, after years of spluttering peace talks.
Calling himself "The Tiger" and promising to be "firm for the homeland" Colombia's incoming leader regularly uses a military salute and has embraced military motifs.
"For Colombia I think it's going to be good. We have to support him so there won't be so much crime", said German Angulo, a 63-year-old contractor. "We need a complete change", he said.
Outgoing leader Gustavo Petro tried and failed to negotiate peace with the country's myriad armed groups.
Experts say the gangs — once ideological but now focused on making money from cocaine trafficking and other illicit trades — used Petro's truces as cover to grow.
The leftist leader is not going quietly. He has called for mass protests in major cities during the inauguration and claimed election fraud, without evidence.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
