Nations, Face Hurdles With a Minority Coalition in Congress, But the Constitution Grants the President Broad Unilateral Powers on Security

Many of his hardline campaign pledges, such as withdrawing from the United Nations, face hurdles with a minority coalition in Congress, but the constitution grants the president broad unilateral powers on security. De la Espriella has pledged to "end" armed groups within a month, a goal widely seen as unrealistic. Colombia's military has already been fully deployed against groups like the FARC dissident Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and EMC splinter EMBF for the past two years, with security forces "operating on all cylinders" and "stretched to their limit, according to the International Crisis Group.

The president-elect plans a "Plan Patriota remixed, echoing the US-backed military offensive under Alvaro Uribe in 2003 that weakened the FARC but drew criticism for rampant human rights abuses, including collusion with paramilitaries who killed civilians and framed them as guerrillas. The US is pushing Latin America toward increased military spending and Bukele-style crackdowns, and de la Espriella intends to comply. A new Plan Patriota would face a different landscape: modern armed groups avoid battlefield clashes, blend into civilian communities, and use drone warfare, leaving no large targets for bombing or columns of fighters to confront.