The designated chancellor of Colombia, Omar Bula, announced this Thursday that the incoming government of elected president Abelardo de la Espriella will not establish embassies in Cuba or Nicaragua, marking a radical shift in Colombian foreign policy towards both regimes, which he referred to as dictatorships.
Bula was explicit in justifying the decision: "We will not legitimize regimes by establishing an embassy."
The diplomat described Cuba and Nicaragua as "long-term dictatorships" and ruled out the possibility of the new Colombian government granting them full diplomatic recognition.
He emphasized that the decision regarding Cuba and Nicaragua does not stem from ordinary ideological differences, but rather from a matter of principles: "These are countries that are definitely on a different path, but not so much due to political currents; it's not about ideology, [but] about long-term dictatorships, and I don't believe it's our role to legitimize them in any way."
The appointed chancellor clarified, however, that Colombia will not sever relations with either country.
To maintain minimal communication channels, the government could resort to figures such as chargé d'affaires, albeit without full-fledged diplomatic representations.
The measure represents a significant break from the era of the outgoing president Gustavo Petro, who maintained close ties with Havana and Managua.
Under Petro, Cuba hosted peace negotiations with the ELN, and both countries served as key allies in the process of "total peace."
De la Espriella, who won the presidential runoff on June 21 with nearly 13 million votes, will take office on August 7, 2026.
During the campaign, he described Cuba as "the head of the communist snake in Latin America" and proposed that the island become a Free Associated State of the United States, similar to Puerto Rico.
Colombia would thus join a regional trend of diplomatic isolation of the Cuban regime.
In March of last year, Ecuador under President Daniel Noboa expelled all Cuban diplomatic personnel and forced the closure of the Cuban embassy in Quito.
In contrast to the treatment given to Cuba and Nicaragua, Bula took a remarkably different stance towards Venezuela.
"With Venezuela, we will be very close. It's a huge opportunity (...) it is in a process with three very clear stages: stabilization, recovery, and transition," he stated, pointing out that Colombia will support this process with the aim of eventual democratization.
Among the immediate priorities of the new government is the restoration of relations with the United States and Israel, a country with which Petro severed ties in May 2024.
Bula confirmed that the decrees to normalize those relations are already being drafted and would be signed on August 7, the day of the presidential inauguration.
"We had been the preferred allies of the United States for a long time," recalled the appointed chancellor, who also announced that the three pillars of his administration would be modernization, professionalization, and austerity.
Washington's support for the new Colombian government was clear from the campaign: Donald Trump celebrated the end of the Petro era and promised a "strong relationship" with De la Espriella, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered cooperation in regional security.
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