Colombia is heading to the polls to choose a new president.

The election is being held after months of public recrimination between current left-wing President Gustavo Petro and his US counterpart Donald Trump over a number of issues including drug trafficking and American intervention in the region.

Colombia's constitution prohibits Petro seeking re-election and he has thrown his support behind Iván Cepeda. Challenging him are right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and conservative senator Paloma Valencia.

The outcome of the election could redefine which countries the Latin American nation aligns itself with and how the government intends to tackle drug gangs amid spiralling violence.

As polls opened, Petro told a crowd in the capital, Bogotá, that Sunday's vote would "determine where Colombia is headed" and would "define the [country's] destiny".

| EPA (Pic): Iván Cepeda has pledged to continue the policies of the current administration

Voting began at 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT) and will close at 16:00 on Sunday. 

None of the candidates appear likely to win an outright majority, with a run-off vote expected on 21 June.

Polling suggests Cepeda has the greatest support, with de la Espriella his next-closest rival.

Cepeda has promised to continue with the Petro administration's policy of "total peace", which sought negotiated settlements with armed insurgent groups that engage in drug trafficking - though talks have stalled or fallen apart and there has been renewed violence. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a recent report that armed conflict in Colombia last year had affected civilians the most in a decade. 

Just hours before voting began, authorities in the northern Cesar region relocated a polling station following a drone attack on security forces that left a soldier injured, local media report.

More than a quarter of Colombia's municipalities face some risk of violence as the country's 41 million voters head to the polls, according to the nation's Electoral Observation Mission.

De la Espriella and Valencia have vowed to launch a military crackdown if elected.

| Getty Images (Pic): Right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella appeared behind bulletproof glass at a rally last week

Colombia's presidential hopefuls have campaigned amid persistent political violence, with one candidate fatally shot last summer. Last week, de la Espriella appeared at a rally in Medellin behind bulletproof glass.

Colombia's defence ministry has deployed 408,000 soldiers and police to secure the election.

Both de la Espriella and Valencia have expressed a desire to restore Colombia's close security alliance with the US.

Cepeda has insisted, just as Petro did, that Colombia should not be a "vassal state" to the US - though observers have noted that the two nations' historic anti-drugs co-operation has continued during even the most heated disputes.

The capture by US forces of Venezuela's former President Nicolás Maduro in January has left Petro one of the region's few remaining left-wing leaders not ideologically aligned with the Trump administration.

Trump has accused Petro of not doing enough to prevent cocaine from his country winding up on America's streets. 

At one point, Trump even called him "a sick man who likes selling cocaine to the United States" and said "he could be next" for US military intervention.

Petro has argued his government has seized the largest amount of drugs in history. But on his watch cocaine production has also soared to record highs, according to the United Nations' United Nations' World Drug Report 2025. Petro disputes the UN's method of counting.

The two presidents, however, appeared to have mended their relations at a White House meeting in February - after which Trump called his guest "terrific".