Santos wins in Colombia

The presidency of Colombia for the next four years is in the hands of Juan Manual Santos. The former defense minister defeated Mockus by a margin of more than 40% in Colombia's runoff  on Sunday.

Santos' landslide win appears to be a vote for continuity. The former military chief under current two-term incumbent President Alvaro Uribe promised in his campaign to extend Uribe's get-tough approach to guerrilla groups and to cocaine production. Commentators said the rescue of three hostages in rebel captivity announced a week before the voting also boosted the candidate's margin of victory.

Santos, who has never held elected office, assumes the presidency on 7 August. Santos is expected to continue Uribe's good relations with the United States, which regards Colombia's current leader as its chief Latin American ally and which over the last decade has delivered more than $6 billion in military and development aid to help the country fight drugs and war on FARC.