The National Times - Colombia election favorite vows US-backed strikes on narco camps

Abelardo de la Espriella unveiled a "shock plan" that would include bombing jungle camps and restarting aerial fumigation with US planes, a dramatic shift in policy after four years of spluttering peace talks.

Speaking in Bogota, the 47-year-old said: "We'll start immediately with the bombing of narco-terrorist camps and with fumigation," framing his campaign for the May election as a mission to save the country.

For the last four years, Colombia has been governed by its first-ever leftist government.

Term-limited President Gustavo Petro has largely avoided military confrontation with an array of cartels, guerrillas, and paramilitaries who control swaths of the country, instead seeking peace deals.

The policy has brought mixed results. Sporadic ceasefires have helped quell violence, but the power of many armed groups has grown.

Colombia now has record levels of cocaine production, according to UN data, more than the heyday of Medellin's Pablo Escobar or the Cali Cartel.

Colombia is thought to produce about 70 percent of the world's cocaine, much of which ends up in the United States.

Polls show De la Espriella running slightly ahead of leftist rival Ivan Cepeda.

If he wins, De la Espriella, a 47-year-old former lawyer, would bring a sharp change in policy in Bogota -- putting the military back at the center of the fight with armed groups.

De la Espriella said his 90‑day emergency plan would "take back territory through a strategic alliance with the United States and Israel."

He said the effort would equip troops "with first‑generation weapons, artificial intelligence, drones, and, of course, budget resources to expand our troop strength."

"This cannot be done without a strategic alliance with the United States and the State of Israel, with US aircraft."

T.Bennett--TNT