President De la Espriella Seeks IMF Deal to Resolve Crisis

President Abelardo De la Espriella instructed his finance minister to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to find a negotiated way out of a fiscal crisis. The move represents a sharp reversal from the position of Finance Minister Miguel Gómez Martínez, who had ruled out an IMF deal three weeks earlier.

The decision follows revised deficit forecasts projecting 7.2 percent of GDP for 2026 and 9.4 percent for 2027. Fitch Ratings warned that borrowing on this scale would require international support. De la Espriella attributed the financial instability to the previous administration of Gustavo Petro, stating that the state's balance is "in the red."

During the same address, the president claimed PepsiCo would invest US$1 billion over five years and reported that kidnappings decreased by 79 percent in August. As of Monday morning, PepsiCo had not publicly confirmed the investment figure.