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.

Petro cannot seek re-election and has thrown his support behind Iván Cepeda. Challenging him are right-wing candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and 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.

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

None of the candidates in Sunday's poll 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.

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

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.

He 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".

The United Arab Emirates has denied any involvement in the civil war and says it investigates alleged links.

Captain James Rodriguez has been named in Colombia's World Cup squad after illness, with Luis Diaz also confirmed in the 26-player group.

The explosion is the latest accident in the locality of Sutatausa, the site of another deadly mine disaster in 2023.

At least 38 people were injured when the vehicle ploughed into the crowd at a show in Colombia.

Journalists are now able to upload their work to a website so that if anything were to happen to them, their work could still be published.