Colombia chooses president amid surge in guerrilla violence

BOGOTA:

Colombians voted Sunday in a presidential election that could shift the country's response to rising guerrilla violence, choosing between extending spluttering peace talks or turning to a military crackdown.

Election polls showed leftwing senator Ivan Cepeda leading, but facing a strong challenge from lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, a pro-Trump outsider.

The vote is in part a referendum on Colombia's first-ever leftist government and his "total peace" initiative -- a policy of holding talks with dissident guerrilla groups.

Experts say guerrillas and other armed groups have used peace overtures to strengthen their positions and to produce record amounts of cocaine.

The campaign has been marked by car bombs, attack drones and the assassination of a leading presidential candidate.

De la Espriella -- self-styled as "The Tiger" -- wants to confront armed groups in the air, on land and at sea, echoing hard-line rhetoric behind recent right-wing wins in Latin America.

On Sunday, he called the election "the most important battle in the republic's history" and claimed he could pull off an outright win, avoiding the June 21 runoff that polls suggest will be necessary.

"This government really strengthened armed groups by being so soft," said Catalina Devia, a 42-year-old advertising executive and mother of two, who is considering emigrating if Cepeda wins.