Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., who faces a tightening race in her heavily Hispanic congressional district, picked up a presidential endorsement Monday — but not from the Oval Office occupant.
Colombia’s president, the Trump-allied Abelardo de la Espriella, called Salazar “Colombia’s best friend in U.S. Congress” in a Spanish-language video Salazar posted on X.
De la Espriella, a Colombian-American citizen who owns property in Salazar’s district, and his wife have donated nearly $90,000 to Salazar in the past.
Salazar made waves last month when she broke with President Donald Trump over immigration, directly addressing him in an ad in which she said some of his immigration enforcement efforts had gone “too far.”
“Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today,” Salazar said.
She is one of several Republicans to have distanced themselves from Trump as the midterm elections approach.
In the days after the ad aired, Trump told reporters at the White House that “without me she wouldn’t have gotten elected,” adding that Salazar “got a little bit soft on the border” while saying he still supported her campaign.
Trump later attacked Salazar, using Truth Social posts to boost other users’ messages attacking her — including one calling for a new Republican to replace her, even though the election is only weeks away.
Now, on the outs with Trump, Salazar is getting support from some right-wing stalwarts overseas.
Last week, she posted a video endorsement from Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who called her a “firm and loyal ally to the cause of Venezuelan freedom.”
Salazar is seeking re-election in a district where more than 74% of the population is Hispanic, according to census data. A significant part of the district has ties to Colombia and Venezuela.
Salazar has represented the district since 2021. It has swung dramatically among presidential candidates in recent elections. Trump won the district by 15 percentage points in 2024, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won it by 20 points in 2016.
According to an NBC News poll, Latino voters nationwide are souring on Trump, dissatisfied over high prices and his approach to immigration enforcement.
Salazar is seeking to fend off Democrat Eliott Rodriguez, a former CBS News Miami anchor. The race, not originally expected to be competitive, has picked up steam in recent weeks.
Cook Political Report shifted the race toward Democrats in late September, moving it from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, said last week that it was sending additional resources to the district in hope of flipping the seat, adding it to its “Red to Blue” program.
Reached for comment about the Latin American leaders’ endorsements of his opponent, Rodriguez turned the conversation to domestic issues, saying the district’s families are “struggling with skyrocketing housing, insurance, grocery and healthcare costs.”
“As much as my opponent would like to make this election about politics in Latin America, it’s really about the people of Florida’s 27th District,” Rodriguez said. “Those are the people I answer to, those are the problems I intend to solve, and those are the people I will represent in Congress.”
De la Espriella, who calls himself “the Tiger,” emerged as a flag-bearer of the Latin American right after his election in June. He got a boost after he received Trump’s endorsement shortly before his runoff against leftist Colombian Sen. Iván Cepeda, an ally of former Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who often found himself in Trump’s crosshairs.
The channel between de la Espriella and Congress goes both ways.
Several lawmakers, including Salazar and Colombian-born Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who advises Trump on Latin American policy, endorsed de la Espriella before his election this year.