Colombia president-elect says Medellin will host anti-cartel alliance office

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 initiative in Medellin.

Colombia is not currently a member of the anti-cartel alliance, which includes pro-US governments in Latin America. Under De la Espriella, who is due to take office on August 7, Colombia is expected to join Trump-allied countries including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.

De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer, has pledged to crack down on armed groups. He has said he will do this partly through military partnerships with the United States and Israel. He has also vowed to join the Shield of the Americas.

In a statement to the press on Tuesday, De la Espriella described Medellin as the centre of drug trafficking and organised crime. Medellin was formerly the stronghold of cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar and became one of the world's most violent cities during his conflict with the Colombian state in the 1980s and 1990s. Drug traffickers linked to international criminal organisations continue to operate there.

Colombia did not join Trump's anti-drugs initiative under outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro. Brazil and Mexico also opted out. Relations between Washington and Bogota were strained as Trump and Petro disagreed over drug policy. Petro was at one point subject to US sanctions, but the two leaders have improved relations in recent months.

De la Espriella won Colombia's June presidential runoff by less than one percentage point. He has promised to dismantle Petro's "total peace" policy of negotiating with guerrilla groups. He also wants to build large prisons and use pesticides to eradicate coca crops.