Colombia’s new president to take office in ceremony in Cali highlighting hard line on armed groups

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Conservative Abelardo de la Espriella will be sworn in as Colombia’s president Friday under heavy security in Cali, a city in the country’s volatile southwest, breaking with the tradition of holding the ceremony in the capital, in a move meant to signal his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups

De la Espriella, 48, will succeed Gustavo Petro after winning a close runoff election on June 21 against the outgoing president’s ally, Sen. Iván Cepeda.

De la Espriella, who has never held public office before, ran as an outsider, financing his campaign with the fortune he amassed as a lawyer and businessman. His inauguration, to be held at a university auditorium before Congress, marks a further shift to the right in the region.

King Felipe VI of Spain and Latin American presidents including Argentina’s Javier Milei, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa and Chile’s José Antonio Kast are expected to attend.

After the ceremony, de la Espriella will travel to a military battalion in Cali to address the troops. He aims to boost the morale of the service members and simultaneously warn the illegal armed groups operating in the area that they must surrender or face being declared “military targets.”

De la Espriella, who calls himself “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” has pledged to tackle the persistent violence in Colombia by breaking with Petro’s policy of negotiating with armed groups, arguing that the peace process has failed.

Illegal economies, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, are disputed among groups like the dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that did not accept the peace agreement signed a decade ago, the Clan del Golfo cartel, and the National Liberation Army guerrilla group.

De la Espriella, a Colombian-American citizen, comes to power after receiving the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and as regional concerns grow about crime, immigration and the economy.

“His rise to power will reinforce this rightward shift across much of Latin America and consolidate a regional bloc of conservative governments against a dwindling number of left-wing administrations,” Glaeldys González, an analyst with the International Crisis Group for the Andes, told The Associated Press.

De la Espriella has said that his government will unite Colombia with the “Shield of the Americas,” a regional coalition to fight drug trafficking that emerged from the summit held by Trump in March.

He also announced that he will resume diplomatic relations with Israel and sever them with Cuba and Nicaragua, which he considers “tyrannies.”

De la Espriella will face robust opposition from Petro, who refused to recognize his electoral victory and insisted on alleged fraud, claiming that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers. The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia.

Petro will be “relentless” and “acerbic” as an opponent, seeking to strengthen his leadership, said political analyst Sergio Guzmán.

Petro has urged social movements in the southwest of the country to organize “people’s militias” to defend themselves against potential attacks from what he called the “fascists,” and called on his supporters to prepare for a general strike should they try to imprison him after he leaves office. Petro was named a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the AP reported in March.

These kinds of calls from Petro, coupled with the hard-line approach de la Espriella intends, increase the likelihood of “confrontations during demonstrations or more forceful responses from the authorities,” according to Andrés Macías, a researcher specializing in conflict and peace at Externado University.

In Cali, where Petro has a large following, social and student organizations have called for demonstrations during the inauguration ceremony. Protests are also expected in Bogota and Barranquilla.

Follow the AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Soldiers inspect a car at a security checkpoint ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A soldier keeps watch from the turret of an armored vehicle ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Soldiers stand guard along a road ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Police inspect vehicles at a checkpoint ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A soldier keeps watch from the turret of an armored vehicle ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday she will oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general, narrowing the confirmation path for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department.

The Alaska senator said she’s concerned the Trump administration could proceed with its proposed $1.8 billion fund to compensate Jan. 6 rioters even though Blanche has issued a formal order terminating it.

Meanwhile, Trump said Thursday he was signing two executive actions on immigration: one limiting the number of people eligible for U.S. citizenship after being born in the United States and the other focused on stopping people from coming to the U.S. to give birth. It’s a sign that even after Trump’s first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he’s ready to try again.

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The president praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, a stalwart Trump loyalist, and said he should be the Republican leader even if the GOP loses its narrow majority.

“He’s great. We work together great,” Trump told Punchbowl News. Sometimes, the president mused, “we’re one heart attack away from losing the House in Congress,” yet Johnson has still delivered major pieces of Trump’s agenda.

“I don’t think there’s even a thought of anybody challenging him,” Trump insisted.

Trump wasn’t so effusive about Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

“I don’t want to get into that. It’s early,” Trump said when asked whether he’d support Thune’s reelection as leader.

Trump said he gets along with the South Dakota senator but lamented the leader’s opposition to scrapping the filibuster and the Senate’s inability to pass the president’s proposals to expand federal power over elections.

“It’s a shame he doesn’t have the votes,” Trump said.

The president’s job approval rating of 33%, according to the latest AP-NORC polling, is as low as it has been in his second presidency — the kind of numbers that hurt a president’s party in midterm elections. But Trump insisted to Punchbowl News that he isn’t the real target of voter frustration, especially among Republicans.

“They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans” on Capitol Hill, he said.

He cited voter turnout in presidential elections, alluding to analyses that show he’s attracted sporadic voters and flipped some historically Democratic-leaning voters.

“The question is, will they vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans to be honest with you,” Trump said.

The president maintained that Republicans can hold their House and Senate majorities this November. But his overall argument was clear: If they don’t, it’s not his fault.

And Labor Department revisions shaved 103,000 jobs off payrolls in May and June. But the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% as Americans left the job market.

The June jobs numbers from the Labor Department on Friday marked a sharp reversal for the American labor market.

Hiring had rebounded this year from a lackluster 2025 in the face of the conflict in the Persian Gulf that has sent energy prices surging and put a strain on family budgets. Job growth had been solid, if unspectacular. Some businesses are having trouble filling vacancies. Others are using technology to do the work humans used to do.

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The Republican president is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign money but told Punchbowl News in an interview released Friday that he’ll unleash the funds to help GOP candidates ahead of the November midterms.

Trump says he has as much as $800 million to spend.

“I control it,” he emphasized.

Notably, he did not offer any details about when or where he’ll distribute the campaign cash.

Many Republicans have been counting on Trump’s super PAC being a key part of the GOP’s defense of their House and Senate majorities. The president’s political funds are a key part of Republicans’ overall financial advantage in the midterm campaign, despite individual Democratic Senate and House candidates outraising their Republican opponents in many key races across the country.

The president told Punchbowl News he’ll leave his acting attorney general at the Justice Department even if his nomination fails.

“It’ll be very sad,” Trump said, but, “we’ll all survive. Todd will survive.”

Trump called Blanche “fair” and said he’s “not a radical flamethrower.” But he acknowledged the political realities.

He singled out Sen. Murkowski as one of his Republican critics but said he has no regrets about his relationship with the Alaska Republican or other GOP senators, including Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy, who could now determine whether Blanche is confirmed.

“You do what you have to do,” Trump said. “Just so you understand, they voted to impeach me. ... In all fairness, you think that I’m going to support somebody that voted to impeach me?”

Cassidy and Murkowski were among the Republicans who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The Alaska Republican announced on social media that she’ll vote against confirming the acting attorney general for the permanent job.

Murkowski complimented Blanche personally after private meetings with him but said she’s concerned he cannot lead an independent Justice Department under President Donald Trump.

“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” she said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”

Murkowski’s decision puts Blanche’s nomination on the brink of failing in a chamber where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. She joins Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in opposition, and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has missed Senate votes since early June because of health problems.

That leaves Sen. Bill Cassidy as the potentially deciding vote given that all Democrats are expected to vote against Blanche.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks with a reporter as he departs after an event for Olympic athletes, coaches, staff, and representatives from Team USA in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)