Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by the United States, said on Sunday that he would sever diplomatic relations with communist Cuba and the government ruling Nicaragua with an iron fist once he takes office.
"Under my government, there will be no ties with tyrannies," the hard-right leader wrote on social media. He is due to take office on August 7.
Announcing the closure of 15 consulates and 14 embassies, the incoming president said the measure would only result in the severance of diplomatic relations with two countries: Cuba and Nicaragua.
A narrow winner of the recent presidential election, Abelardo de la Espriella received the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump during the campaign.
Colombia and the United States, long-standing allies, have experienced unprecedented diplomatic tensions since the start of Donald Trump's second term, marked by repeated clashes with outgoing left-wing President Gustavo Petro.
According to Petro, Abelardo de la Espriella "takes direct orders from the U.S. State Department." He also denounced what he described as Trump's interference in Colombia's domestic politics because of his explicit support for the president-elect.
In Nicaragua, Parliament and the electoral authority are moving forward with a reform that would bar the opposition from participating in elections, in line with the wishes of President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007. Washington has strongly condemned the proposal.
As for Cuba, relations with the United States have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with Donald Trump repeatedly threatening to take control of the island.
Abelardo de la Espriella also plans to reopen a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem and suspend the planned opening of the Colombian embassy in the Palestinian Territories, an initiative launched by Gustavo Petro.
Bogotá is expected to close its embassies in Algeria, Haiti, Barbados, Hungary, Senegal, Ethiopia, and South Africa, among others. In countries such as Italy and France, diplomatic representations will be merged.
The president-elect said the changes are motivated by budgetary reasons, arguing that the savings would be used to strengthen funding for security.