Colombia’s President-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, appoints political ally Carlos Felipe Mejía as ambassador to Spain

Eduardo González Colombia's President-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has appointed one of his main supporters in the presidential elections, former Senator Carlos Felipe Mejía, as ambassador to Spain. "I thank President Abelardo de la Espriella for the confidence expressed today in publicly announcing my appointment as Ambassador of Colombia to Spain during the commemoration of Colombia's Independence Day, celebrated in the city of Medellín," Mejía posted on social media this Thursday. According to the Colombian digital newspaper 'Valora Analitik', the Embassy in Spain is one of the most important diplomatic postings for Colombia's foreign policy due to the close economic, commercial, and cultural ties between the two nations. “His arrival at the Colombian Embassy in Spain comes at a time when both countries maintain a strategic agenda regarding trade, investment, cooperation, tourism, and migration,” the statement continued. Among the most relevant sectors, according to this newspaper specializing in economic issues, are infrastructure, the energy transition, innovation, and education. Furthermore, Spain remains one of the main foreign investors in Colombia and a key partner for Colombian companies interested in expanding operations into Europe, and the Colombian community in Spain is one of the largest abroad. Carlos Felipe Mejía, 63, was a Colombian senator for the Democratic Center party, led by former president Álvaro Uribe, from 2018 to 2022, and is one of the founders of Defenders of the Homeland, the right-wing movement that supported Abelardo de la Espriella's presidential campaign. Mejía will replace Eduardo Ávila Navarrete, ambassador since November 2022, who, like his successor under De la Espriella, played a significant role in the electoral campaign of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, a leftist. The new president, businessman and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, won last October by a mere one percent margin over the leftist candidate, Iván Cepeda, of the Historical Pact, and will assume the presidency of Colombia on August 7 for a four-year term (2026-2030).

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