Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo De la Espriella has built his campaign on a narrative of business success, but a new examination reveals a complex network of companies with mixed financial performance and links to controversial figures. The review of corporate filings across Colombia, Panama, and the United States raises questions about potential conflicts of interest as De la espriella seeks the nation’s highest office, with the candidate’s campaign offering no direct response to specific inquiries. This report details findings from an investigation conducted through December 2025 into De la Espriella’s “universe” of business interests.
Abelardo De la Espriella, a Colombian lawyer and entrepreneur, is mounting a presidential campaign built on a narrative of self-made success. But a detailed investigation into his business holdings reveals a complex web of companies, some struggling financially, and connections to individuals with controversial pasts.
“I do the difficult things, others can do the easy ones,” De la Espriella has said, framing his candidacy as one driven by a proven ability to overcome challenges.
An extensive review of corporate filings, property records, and partnerships across Colombia, Panama, and the United States shows De la Espriella has a stake in at least 35 companies, either directly or through family members. The findings raise questions about potential conflicts of interest as he seeks the nation’s highest office.
The investigation, conducted through December 2025, found that 15 of these companies are directly linked to De la Espriella or his family. These businesses, collectively referred to within his campaign as the “De la Espriella universe,” span a diverse range of industries, from law and fashion to liquor and real estate.
While De la Espriella portrays a consistent record of financial success, the financial statements paint a more nuanced picture. Several of his business partners have faced legal issues, and the overall financial performance of his companies has been mixed. Real estate appears to be the strongest component of his portfolio.
De la Espriella’s campaign declined to respond to specific questions about his business dealings, issuing a statement that the inquiries were “fallacious and biased.” The campaign argued that the companies themselves should answer the questions, despite De la Espriella’s role as a representative, shareholder, or public face of each enterprise.
Here are six key findings from the investigation into De la Espriella’s business empire:
1. Colombian Businesses Reported Losses
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In Colombia, De la Espriella has a portfolio of at least seven companies representing his interests. These include:
- De la Espriella Lawyers: A law firm founded in 2004.
- De la Espriella App: Providing legal services through digital platforms, founded in 2020.
- Cosenza: Manages a significant portion of the assets of De la Espriella, his wife Ana Lucía Pineda, and their children, and also includes livestock operations. Founded in 2015.
- De la Espriella Style: Retail sales of food, beverages, and clothing, founded in 2022.
- Dominio De la Espriella: Production and marketing of Fratellone wine, Defensor 12-year-old rum, and Defensor 18-year-old rum, founded in 2020.
- Mediterráneo Corp: Civil engineering and real estate activities, founded in 2009.
- Northwest SAS: Dedicated to real estate activities, founded in 2015.
De la Espriella App stopped reporting to the Chamber of Commerce after 2022, and Northwest did so after 2024. Therefore, only five of the seven companies remain fully active.
According to financial statements reported for 2024, these five companies collectively generated 16.13 billion pesos in revenue. However, the accounting results of four of them – after expenses and taxes – were minimal, and two even reported losses.
De la Espriella Lawyers, the law firm, was the only one with a substantial positive result, accounting for 406 of the 419 million pesos in post-tax profits for the entire business network. The other two companies, Mediterráneo Corp and Cosenza, reported the remaining 13 million pesos.
The remaining two companies posted losses that turned the overall financial balance of the business network negative.
Dominio De la Espriella, the liquor business, reported losses of 552 million pesos. De la Espriella Style incurred losses of 26 million pesos. This company manages all the merchandise surrounding De la Espriella, including books, clothing, and podcasts, and promotes the De la Espriella Collection aparthotel project in Bogotá’s upscale Zone T.
In other words, the financial results reported for 2024 indicate that De la Espriella’s business network closed the year with a net loss of 159 million pesos in Colombia.
2. Some Companies Owe More Than They Possess
Despite the negative financial results, De la Espriella’s total assets are valued at 19.68 billion pesos, or approximately $5.2 million USD. This figure is calculated by subtracting liabilities (debts) of 43.278 billion pesos from total assets (properties, holdings, and cash) of 62.958 billion pesos.
Of the five companies that reported their balance sheets, only three have positive equity:
- De la Espriella Lawyers: 16.531 billion pesos in equity.
- Cosenza: 5.817 billion pesos in equity.
- Mediterráneo Corp: 943 million pesos in equity.
The two companies focused on fashion, books, podcasts, and liquor have negative equity:
- Dominio De la Espriella: Registered negative equity of 3.381 billion pesos.
- De la Espriella Style: Registered negative equity of 230 million pesos.
If this were De la Espriella’s personal equity, $5.2 million would be enough to be part of the wealthiest 1% in the United States. However, this amount is significantly less than the wealth reported by other recent Colombian presidential candidates.
For example, it represents only one-tenth of the assets reported by the companies of the late Rodolfo Hernández during his 2022 presidential bid. At that time, Hernández’s business group reported 181 billion pesos in equity.
Hernández ran his 2022 campaign on a similar platform to De la Espriella – as an outsider businessman whose private sector success would translate to effective governance.
3. De la Espriella’s Partners: Nominees, Relatives of Convicted Criminals, Oil Executives, and Singers
In September 2022, vallenato singer Silvestre Dangond launched his rum brand, Ron Defensor, in partnership with Abelardo De la Espriella. While the public face of the venture was the artist and the lawyer, behind the scenes, 14 partners hold stakes in Dominio De la Espriella SAS, the parent company of the rum and Fratellone wine.
The majority shareholder is called Somos Inversiones. Founded in Panama, it currently holds 50 percent of the business. Its director is Lucía Leticia Ledezma, who appears in at least 314 other organizations in Panama and has been identified as a nominee in media reports.
The other half is diversified. Eight percent is held by Silvestre Dangond and his wife through a company called Music Dreams.
Another six percent is in the hands of relatives of Hugues Rodríguez Fuentes, convicted of conspiring to support paramilitary groups and known as “Commander Barbie” within the AUC. Three percent is held by Elisa Clara Rodríguez Fuentes, Hugues’ sister; 1.5 percent is held by Invercop, owned by Carlos Juan Olivella Pavajeau, Hugues Rodríguez’s stepson, according to the most recent Chamber of Commerce reports (2023). His brother, Jaime Luis Olivella Pavajeau, appears in Dominio De la Espriella’s financial statements as being linked to Caption, which holds another 1.5 percent.
Additionally, nine percent is held by Monte Horeb Group, owned by Soraya Obando Daes. Before she became the sole shareholder, between 2020 and 2021, the firm included two of Hugues Rodríguez’s sons: Hugues Rodríguez Pavajeau and María Lucía Rodríguez Pavajeau.
De la Espriella’s “Defensor” partners also include oil industry figures. Eight percent is held by Black Swan Finance Corp, owned by oil executive Serafino Iácono. Iácono previously owned a luxury apartment purchased at a bargain price by Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa.
The friendship between Iácono and De la Espriella has been publicly acknowledged by the presidential candidate, who posted a photo from a vacation in 2020 where he met with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Another oil executive involved is Federico Restrepo Solano, who holds a five percent stake through Divanci and York Capital Management SAS. Restrepo is a partner with Iácono in both oil and mining ventures, as well as the ownership of a fourth-division Italian soccer team, Associazione Calcio Sammaurense.
De la Espriella also has a parallel business network in the United States.
5. A U.S.-Based Business Network
Between 2013 and 2023, De la Espriella created or was involved in 14 companies in Florida. Of these, six are inactive or have been dissolved, he was briefly a manager in one, and he or his wife directly appear in seven others.
- SGS Investments Global LLC
- Dominio De la Espriella LLC
- De la Espriella Lawyers Enterprise Inc
- Anabela Corporation
- Abeluci Cars Corp
- Abelucci LLC
The stated purpose of all these entities is to conduct any legal business in the United States.
The most recent company identified is Místico Group LLC, which owns the Místico restaurant in Miami. De la Espriella holds a stake through Anabela Corporation. His partners include singer Dangond and businesswoman Yusty Barbara, known for her restaurants.
De la Espriella also has a business line called De la Espriella Invest, advising Hispanics on real estate and stock purchases in the United States.
6. Key Advisors: A Lawyer, a Sister-in-Law, and a Strategist
Within De la Espriella’s business network, three individuals consistently appear: attorney Daniel Peñarredonda, his sister-in-law Lilian Pineda, and political strategist Carlos Suárez Rojas.
Daniel Peñarredonda, a partner at De la Espriella Lawyers, is considered a close confidant. He has held various leadership and ownership positions in De la Espriella’s businesses and served as treasurer of his foundation.
“I raised him,” De la Espriella said of his relationship with Peñarredonda. He maintains they are friends, but that Peñarredonda has distanced himself in recent years to “do his own thing.”
Peñarredonda is connected to the circle around Alex Saab, whom De la Espriella represented while Saab was detained in the United States on charges of acting as a front for the Maduro regime. Both Peñarredonda and his sister, Andrea Peñarredonda, appear in social media photos with Camila Fabri, Saab’s wife.
As of late 2023, Peñarredonda remained a partner at De la Espriella Lawyers. He is also the legal representative of Mediterráneo Corp and De la Espriella App.
Peñarredonda also founded Inversiones Inmobiliarias DP, which holds a two percent stake in Dominio De la Espriella. The company’s address is the same as De La Espriella Lawyers’ offices.
Lilian María Pineda Aruachan, De la Espriella’s sister-in-law, is another key figure. As of November 2024, she managed De La Espriella Lawyers. She and her husband, Carlos Sánchez Cortés, are owners of Asesorías e Inversiones Sánchez Pineda, which holds a nine percent stake in De La Espriella APP. Pineda is also the legal representative of Mediterraneo Corp, the Abelardo De la Espriella Educational Scholarships Foundation, and De La Espriella Style SAS.
Finally, political strategist Carlos Suárez Rojas, owner of Estrategia & Poder, is a close associate. His firm has a registered affiliate in the United States that De la Espriella represented in 2022. Suárez is also a founder of De la Espriella’s foundation and owns 30 percent of Churca SAS, which holds a stake in De La Espriella Style. He also appears in the documents of Abeluci Cars Corp, alongside De la Espriella’s wife.
This network illustrates the complex relationships surrounding De la Espriella’s business interests.
