Far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. X/ @estoescambio.
His law firm participated in misuse of public health funds affecting more than 1.6 million citizens.
On Sunday, Ivan Cepeda, the presidential candidate of the leftist Historic Pact, accused Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right candidate of Homeland Defenders, of having participated in acts of corruption within the health care system through his law firm.
At a campaign rally in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, Cepeda presented a document titled “Abelardo de la Espriella and the Theft of Health Care Resources,” which shows that the U.S.-backed candidate participated in acts related to private corruption, procedural fraud, embezzlement by misappropriation and official embezzlement by misappropriation for a different purpose.
“They carried out a looting of the health care system, specifically along the Caribbean coast. In several regions of the country, paramilitarism and local politicians stole vast health care resources by creating and controlling health-promoting entities (EPS) and diverting resources to health care provider institutions (IPS),” Cepeda said.
In 2018, the firm De la Espriella Lawyers was hired by the company Saludvida and received funds from the Colombian health care system, which is prohibited under the law establishing the specific allocation of those resources. Amid the crisis, Saludvida transferred real estate assets worth about US$41.7 million to the firm Lithia Investment S.A.S.
“El estadounidense Abelardo de la Espriella confesó que mató una cantidad indeterminada de gatos con explosivos. Un personaje tan cruel, no merece ser el presidente de un país tan biodiverso como Colombia” 👇 pic.twitter.com/VqmhgbEAEw
— Juan Carlos (@DigitalJumper) June 13, 2026
The text reads, “American Abelardo de la Espriella confessed to killing an undetermined number of cats with explosives. Such a cruel individual does not deserve to be the president of a country as biodiverse as Colombia.”
Joaquin Gutierres, the current head of De la Espriella’s campaign, participated in that process. He is also linked to the law firm of the far-right presidential candidate.
Iván Cepeda Criticizes Right-wing Colombian Candidate for Political Violence
According to Cepeda, the actions carried out by De la Espriella through his law firm affected the provision of health care services to more than 1.6 million citizens.
On June 21, millions of Colombians will head to the polls to choose their next president between Abelardo de la Espriella and Ivan Cepeda. According to the latest voting intention surveys, the far-right politician maintains a lead of between 3 and 5 percentage points over the Historic Pact candidate.
📌Ivan Cepeda cast his vote in #Bogota and reaffirmed his commitment to social change.
🔴The Pacto Histórico candidate emphasized the importance of citizen participation and urged the opposition to respect the electoral system.
🔴Cepeda stated that, with a clean campaign,… pic.twitter.com/6NnwBTGNsB
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 31, 2026
(Telesur)
