Colombia president-elect says anti-cartel alliance office will be in Medellin

Colombia's president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella said the country will host an office for US President Donald Trump's Shield of the Americas anti-cartel initiative in Medellin.

Colombia, described as the world's largest cocaine producer, is not currently a member of the alliance of pro-US administrations in Latin America. Under De la Espriella, it is due to join Trump-allied countries including Ecuador, Argentina and El Salvador.

De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer, is due to take office on August 7. He has pledged to crack down on armed groups, including by forming military partnerships with the United States and Israel. He has also promised to join the Shield of the Americas.

In a statement to the press, De la Espriella called Medellin "the head of the snake of drug trafficking and organized crime." Medellin was formerly the stronghold of late cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar and became one of the world's most violent cities in the 1980s and 1990s during his war against the state. Drug traffickers linked to international criminal organizations continue to operate in the city.

Ecuador said it would begin military operations against organized crime with Colombia "from the very first day" of De la Espriella's term. Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg told reporters that Colombia's change of government was favorable for Ecuador because it would give the country "someone to work with" against organized crime.

Ecuador has accused outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro of not doing enough to fight drug trafficking along the border shared by the two countries. Colombia did not take part in Trump's anti-drugs initiative under Petro, and Brazil and Mexico also opted out.

Washington and Bogota have historically had strong ties, but their relationship worsened as ideologically opposed leaders disagreed over drug policy. Petro was subjected to US sanctions at one point, though the leaders have repaired their relationship in recent months.

De la Espriella won June's presidential runoff by less than one percentage point. He has vowed to dismantle Petro's "total peace" strategy of negotiating with guerrilla groups. He also wants to build so-called "mega-prisons" and use pesticides to eradicate coca crops.