Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella has been sworn in as Colombia's new president, after winning a June runoff on promises to crack down on armed groups, shrink the state by as much as 40 percent and revive the oil and gas sector.
An ally of US President Donald Trump, De La Espriella, 48, represented well-known right-wing paramilitaries during his time as a lawyer.
He has never before held elected office.
De la Espriella, who is nicknamed "The Tiger," campaigned on a tough-on-crime approach, which includes proposals like canceling peace talks with Colombian rebel groups and building mega-prisons, like those in El Salvador.
De la Espriella's election marks a pivotal moment for Colombia, which was governed for the past four years by a former member of a rebel group, who was critical of the Trump administration's immigration and anti-drug policies.
"The Tiger" has promised to tackle extortion and drug trafficking. He was endorsed by Trump, who described the lawyer and business owner as the candidate who could restore law and order in Colombia.
The 48-year-old President-elect, who holds dual US and Colombian citizenship, has offered to launch joint military operations and even host US troops on Colombian soil.
Petro leaves presidential residence
In a break with tradition, his inauguration took place in the tropical southwestern city of Cali, Colombia's salsa capital, not at Congress in more buttoned-down Bogota.
Among the guests was Gianni Infantino, the beleaguered FIFA president who faces criticism over his now shelved plan to open the World Cup and other competitions up to private investment.
Infantino arrived in Cali with the head of South American football federation CONMEBOL, photos published by Colombia's federation showed.
The inauguration was attended by powerful right-wing figures, including Argentina's President Javier Milei and Todd Blanche, President Trump's acting attorney general, who will head a delegation filled with anti-drug policy officials.
De la Espriella's victory is yet another notch in the belt for rightists in Latin America after electoral wins from Chile to Costa Rica on the back of security promises.
The incoming leader has announced plans to sever ties with leftist administrations in Nicaragua and Cuba, both of which he called "tyrannies."
De la Espriella plans to forge a military alliance with the United States and Israel to aid his war on guerrillas.
Outgoing leftist leader Gustavo Petro, who was not attending the event in Cali, left the presidential residence in the capital early in the afternoon with some of his family and staff.
"I hope you remember us," he said. "Farewell, freedom and life."
