Colombia's Santos win means continuity

BOGOTA - Former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos easily won Colombia's presidency on Sunday and will stick to policies that put guerrillas on the defensive and attracted foreign investment, but he still faces risks with the economy and relations with leftist neighbors.

His win was widely expected, since opinion polls showed he had a commanding lead ahead of the run-off, and the result is likely to have little impact on Colombia's peso currency or TES bonds.

Santos' defeat of independent Antanas Mockus is seen as an endorsement of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe's policies, which were credited with slashing rebel and drug violence.