Gustavo Petro inaugurated as president of Colombia, live

Colombia’s elected president, Gustavo Petro, has determined little by little what his government will be, with some ministers appointed.

Little by little, Petro – who won the elections on June 19 – announces the officials who will lead the ministries in the government that begins on August 7.

Ministry of Defense – Ivan Velasquez

Lawyer Ivan Velasquez, born in Medellin, has a long history in the Colombian judicial system and as Commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala.

In Colombia, during the 1990s, he led the investigations against Pablo Escobar. In 2017, Velasquez, as an associate judge in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Colombia, investigated congressmen’s links to paramilitary groups and secured convictions of more than 50 people.

In 2013, he took up his position on the United Nations Commission against Corruption in Guatemala, but after four years President Jimmy Morales decided to expel him.

Velasquez faces the challenge of removing the national police from the Ministry of Defense, as proposed by the president-elect, so that it becomes a civilian body and is part of the Ministry of Justice or the Interior.

Ministry of the Interior – Alfonso Prada

Just a day before his inauguration as President of Colombia, Petro announced the appointment of several ministers. One of them was Alfonso Prada, Former Representative in the House of Representatives And a former member of the Board of the Ministry of Interior.

Find out the full list here