Las primeras 48 horas de Abelardo de la Espriella: tres ciudades reemplazan a setenta decretos

From the first 48 hours of Abelardo de la Espriella's presidency in Colombia, three cities - Cali, Barranquilla and Medellín - replaced the seventy decrees he had promised to sign on his first day. Instead of implementing his promised administrative push, Espriella focused on symbolic gestures. He took possession of the presidency in Cali, where he also announced his intention to make the city Colombia's alternate capital.

In Barranquilla, his home city where he practices law, he declared it as the alternate capital and spent the day reviewing the construction of a presidential-like complex there. Medellín was visited next, where he attended a concert organized by his supporters to celebrate his arrival. Notably, no announcements were made about the freezing of public spending or the designation of terrorist organizations, despite these being key campaign promises.

Instead, Espriella focused on issues like aerial spraying and the substitution of coca crops, and the activation of a high-altitude mountain battalion in Cali. He also coordinated the transfer of 43 prisoners to maximum-security prisons, a decision taken by the previous government that began to be implemented during the inauguration weekend.

He announced plans to coordinate military operations against high-value targets of various armed groups, promising to capture or neutralize them within 90 days. By Sunday morning, his agenda centered around thanking Colombian athletes who participated in the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo and highlighting the importance of Medellín as a major cultural and political center during his administration.

His priorities shifted towards security, relationships with local governors, and the construction of a three-city model outside of Bogotá, emphasizing regional decentralization and the abandonment of the previous president's peace negotiations with armed groups.