Venezuelan migrant workers in Colombia breathe sigh of relief after De la Espriella’s narrow win - EUROPE SAYS
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Fernando Bermudez was among the Venezuelan migrants who live in Colombia who breathed a sigh of relief after Abelardo De la Espriella’s narrow presidential victory on Sunday’s runoff. . .
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Fernando Bermudez was among the Venezuelan migrants who live in Colombia who breathed a sigh of relief after Abelardo De la Espriella’s narrow presidential victory on Sunday’s runoff election. Bermudez, who works as an Uber driver in Bogotá, said that although he couldn’t vote, he felt strongly that the right-wing candidate who campaigned as “El Tigre” was best for him and his family. Bermudez said following Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s aggressive pursuit of a constitutional reform to bypass legislative gridlock felt like a traumatic déjà vu. Petro supported Sen. Iván Cepeda as his successor. “They were talking about a constitutional change,” Bermudez said on Monday morning in Spanish. Venezuelan migrant workers who lived through the decline after Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro altered their country’s constitution to circumvent the legislature felt fear. “That was the first thing Chávez did in 1999,” Bermudez said. There are about 8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide. Nearly 2. 84 million are living in Colombia,accordingto Colombian officials. Bermudez is among the more than 590,000 Venezuelans who call Bogotá their home. While some Venezuelans have found stability through entrepreneurship and employment in Colombia, many of them are forced into Bogotá’s informal economy. The undocumented remain vulnerable to exploitation. De la Espriella, a criminal defense attorney who campaigned as “El Tigre,” a law-and-order candidate, vowed to cut social spending. As of Monday evening, De la Espriella stood to become the president-elect after winning some 250,830 more votes than Cepeda,accordingto the national registry. “I think Colombia is in a bed of dry tinder,” said Sergio Guzmán, the co-founder and director ofColombia Risk Analysis, who keeps a portrait of slain Colombian political satiristJaime Garzónin his office. Petro’s term ends on Aug. 7, when De la Espriella, who had the endorsement of U. S. President Donald Trump, expects to be sworn in to become Colombia’s 48th president. “Petro will try to inflame social unrest against De La Espriella,” Guzmán said. More related storiesTorres contributed to this report from Miami. Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10. com – All rights reserved.