The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, surprised the country by presenting a shortlist made up exclusively of women for the election of the new Attorney General of the Nation. The Plenary Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice will be in charge of choosing between the three candidates: Amparo Cerón, Ángela Buitrago and Amelia Pérez Parra.
«I have chosen three women with extensive experience in criminal law and in the exercise of their professional life as Prosecutors to integrate the shortlist for the appointment of Attorney General of the Nation. The three have a common denominator: they all risked their lives to defend the rights of human beings at the worst moment of the genocide unleashed in Colombia.” affirmed President Gustavo Petro.
I have chosen three women with extensive experience in criminal law and in the exercise of their professional life as prosecutors to integrate the shortlist for the appointment of Attorney General of the Nation; All three have a common denominator: they all risked their lives to defend the…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 2, 2023
Amparo Cerón, one of the most experienced prosecutors in the country, currently holds the position of Delegate Prosecutor before the Superior Court of Bogotá. During the administration of the previous Attorney General, Néstor Humberto Martínez, Cerón led the investigations in the Odebrecht case.
Ángela Buitrago, for her part, was a delegate before the Supreme Court of Justice and was in charge of the investigations into the Palace of Justice and the disappeared. During her long career, she managed to send high-ranking officers of the Military Forces to prison.
Amelia Pérez Parra, the third member of the shortlist, has been in charge of cases related to Human Rights in the prosecution body. Her main cases focused on issues related to paramilitaries, Carlos Castaño and Salvatore Mancuso.