The right-wing candidate in Colombia’s presidential race campaigned as a patriot and son of the country’s Caribbean coast, wearing a straw hat and his nation’s yellow soccer jersey.
That candidate, Abelardo De La Espriella, is also an American.
Mr. De La Espriella, 47, was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2023, after spending more than a decade in Florida, where he worked as a criminal defense lawyer representing high-profile Colombian clients.
“I am enjoying the peace and quiet that is so hard for me to find in Colombia, because of the many security issues I have there,” he wrote when announcing his naturalization online.
Mr. De La Espriella, who will face a left-wing rival, Ivan Cepeda, in an upcoming runoff, was endorsed on Tuesday by President Trump.
Mr. Cepeda, denounced the endorsement, telling reporters that Mr. De La Espriella was allowing “the intervention of foreign governments to define our electoral race.”
But to many Colombians, Mr. Trump’s move seemed to push Mr. De La Espriella closer to victory.
He has projected his close relationship with the United States as a strength. Following Mr. Trump’s endorsement, he posted an image of a Tiger — his campaign mascot — beside an eagle.
Can a Latin American president also be a U.S. citizen?
What U.S. Law Says
There’s nothing in U.S. law requiring a foreign head of stateto relinquish American citizenship, said Peter Spiro, a citizenship expert and professor at Temple University.
A recent example, he said, is the current pope. “The pope is a U.S. citizen.”
The Supreme Court ruled that dual citizens can lose their U.S. citizenship only if they express that they want to give it up, according to Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia.
Acts that might appear inconsistent with U.S. citizenship — such as running for foreign office — do not, by themselves, result in loss of citizenship.
“It’s certainly not unprecedented and it really just depends on the country’s laws,” said Charles Kuck, the former national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Other heads of state have been dual citizens in Latin America, Mr. Kuck noted, including Daniel Noboa, Ecuador’s president, who was born in Miami. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former Peruvian president, renounced his U.S. citizenship before taking office.
What Colombian Law Says
Luis Gilberto Murillo, a former Colombian ambassador to the United States, said Colombia’s Constitution also does not require Mr. De La Espriella to renounce his U.S. passport.
“The person can have double nationality and be president of Colombia,” he said, noting that President Gustavo Petro has Italian and Colombian citizenship.
The question, he said, is whether a Colombian president could have “triple nationality.”
Mr. De La Espriella also has an Italian passport and was living in Florence before returning last year to run for president.
What has Mr. De La Espriella said?
Mr. De La Espriella’s campaign did not immediately say whether he would relinquish his U.S. citizenship if elected.
He has pitched himself as Colombia first, stressing nationalist themes and vowing to “defend the motherland” from drug traffickers.
But he has also signaled that being a U.S. citizen would give him an edge at a time when the Trump administration has made Latin America a priority.
And during a campaign marked by violence and threats against candidates, Mr. De La Espriella warned anyone who might make him a target.
“Let it be clear: anyone who targets an American citizen — whether a government, criminals, or narco-terrorists — will face the full force of American justice,” he wrote online.
What do U.S. lawmakers say?
Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican and staunch ally of Mr. De La Espriella, has suggested that he would represent U.S. interests if elected.
“He’s a U.S. citizen along with being a Colombian citizen,” Ms. Salazar said in a message urging Colombians to vote. “We know he’s a friend of the United States.”
But Mr. De La Espriella’s possible ascent comes amid a fierce debate over citizenship in the United States.
Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, who has also supported Mr. De La Espriella’s run, is a hard liner on immigration and naturalization.
“My assumption would be that he would not be able to be a U.S. citizen while he’s president of a country — that’s just common sense,” he told reporters.
What do voters think?
Some Colombian political commentators and voters have suggested that Mr. De La Espriella’s American citizenship could give the United States disproportionate influence over his decision making, including on defense and security issues.
Online, the debate has been raucous, with many saying that he should be required to give up his U.S. passport on day one if he is elected.
Mr. Petro has accused Mr. De La Espriella of genuflecting to Mr. Trump and warned of turning Colombia into a “colony” of the United States.
Yet many supporters see his dual citizenship as a plus. “Abelardo lived in the United States, he knows how things work,” said Tyrone Guerrero, 42, a computer engineer in Barranquilla.
“He can have an excellent relationship with their president.”
Ernesto Londoño, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and José María León Cabrera contributed reporting.
Annie Correal is a Latin America correspondent for The Times.
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