Bogota, Colombia ? Strengthened by his landslide presidential re-election, staunch U.S. ally Alvaro Uribe declared Monday that he will fulfill his “huge responsibility” to Colombia.

In Colombia’s least violent election in more than a decade, Uribe won a second term with 62 percent of the votes Sunday – far outpacing his closest rival.

Colombians overwhelmingly returned Uribe to office – the first time for an incumbent in more than a century – because of a surge of economic growth and a decline in crime and violence.

But he has acknowledged the job is far from finished and foremost among his tasks will be fulfilling pledges to end the threat from leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers.

“I have a huge responsibility to serve the fatherland,” Uribe told cheering supporters outside the Santa Teresita church in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city.