Colombians vote in presidential election amid rising guerrilla violence

BOGOTA: Colombians voted on Sunday in a presidential election that could alter the country's approach to worsening guerrilla violence, with voters choosing between continuing troubled peace talks or pursuing a military offensive.

Polls showed leftwing senator Ivan Cepeda ahead, though lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, a political outsider described as pro-Trump, was mounting a strong challenge. The election is partly seen as a verdict on Colombia's first leftist administration and its total peace policy, under which the government has held talks with dissident guerrilla groups.

Analysts say guerrilla and other armed groups have used the peace initiative to consolidate their positions and increase cocaine production to record levels. The campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of worsening unrest, including car bombings, drone attacks and the killing of a prominent presidential candidate.

De la Espriella, who brands himself as The Tiger, has pledged to take on armed groups by air, land and sea, reflecting the hardline messaging that has helped recent right-wing victories elsewhere in Latin America. On Sunday, he described the vote as the most important battle in the republic's history and said he believed he could win outright, although polling indicated a June 21 runoff was likely. A voter, Catalina Devia, a 42-year-old advertising executive and mother of two, said the government had emboldened armed groups by taking too soft a line and that she was weighing emigration if Cepeda won.