Colombian president-elect from the hardline right, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced on Tuesday the opening of an office in Medellín (west) for the 'Shield of the Americas,' a group of Latin American countries allied with Donald Trump to combat drug trafficking militarily.

Colombia, led by outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro, did not join this alliance, which includes more than 10 countries allied with Washington, such as Argentina, Ecuador, and El Salvador.

Key drug trafficking countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, led by leftist governments, refused to join the initiative.

Abelardo said, 'Here, in Medellín, lies the head of the serpent of drug trafficking and organized crime,' referring to the country's second-largest city, which was a stronghold of Pablo Escobar, the infamous leader of the Colombian drug cartel that bears the city's name, before he was killed by police in 1993.