The choice signaled a decisive break from the strategy of negotiated peace with those groups pursued by outgoing leftist leader Gustavo Petro, whom de la Espriella defeated in June’s runoff. De La Espriella has dismissed Petro’s policy as a failure. “There will be no room for maneuvers that undermine the stability of the nation,” de la Espriella said on Friday, as he pledged to “relentlessly defeat narco-terrorism”. A political newcomer known to supporters as “El Tigre”, The Tiger, de la Espriella built his fortune and public profile as a lawyer and businessman rather than through elected office, largely self-financing his campaign as an outsider candidate. AdvertisementDe la Espriella has, in contrast, hewed closed to Trump and his militaristic approach to drug crime in Latin America.