Gustavo Pedro’s inauguration as President of Colombia is live

Colombia’s president-elect, Gustavo Pedro, has sketched a bit of what his government will look like by appointing some ministers.

Little by little, Pedro, who won the election on June 19, announces the officials who will lead the ministries in the government that starts on August 7.

Ministry of Defense – Ivan Velasquez

Medellin-born lawyer Iván Velázquez has a long history in the Colombian judiciary and was commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.

In Colombia, in the 1990s, he led the investigations against Pablo Escobar. In 2017, as an assistant magistrate of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Colombia, Velázquez investigated connections to congressional paramilitarism and obtained the convictions of more than 50 people.

In 2013 he was appointed to the UN commission to fight corruption in Guatemala, but four years later President Jimmy Morales decided to expel him.

As proposed by the president-elect, Velásquez has the challenge of removing the National Police from the Ministry of Defense so that it becomes a civilian body and part of the Ministry of Justice or the Interior.

Ministry of Interior – Alfonso Prada

A day before his inauguration as president of Colombia, Pedro announced the appointment of several ministers. One of them is Alfonso Prada. Former Representative of the House and former Councillor, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Check out the complete list here