"Investing in Colombia will once again be a safe and profitable decision for you, business leaders in the country and in the rest of the world," the 48-year-old businessman and lawyer said
on Friday local time.
Shortly after the inauguration, the US State Department announced that it was planning to provide de la Espriella's government with $1 billion "in the work of achieving our shared goals."
de la Espriella, who calls himself “The Tiger,” won the presidential election in June by less than one percentage point against leftist candidate Iván Cepeda. The change of power marks a sharp ideological shift after four years under Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in the country’s history, who emphasized poverty reduction over the fight against crime.
Right-wing radical de la Espriella instead takes inspiration from El Salvador's authoritarian president Nayib Bukele, who promises full-scale war against armed groups and the construction of "mega-prisons." He also wants to shrink the state, expand oil and gas extraction, and attract investment by, among other things, abolishing the wealth tax.
The shift in power can be seen as part of a right-wing wave that has swept through Latin American countries such as Peru, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia in recent years.
