Who is Luz Adriana Camargo Carzón, the new Attorney General of Colombia?

(CNN Spanish) — Luz Adriana Camargo was elected this Tuesday as Colombia's new Attorney General by an 18-vote majority in the plenary chamber of the Supreme Court in the fifth round of voting.

Camargo is a lawyer, graduated from the Universidad de la Sabana with specialization in criminal law and criminology. He worked as a representative advocate in the Supreme Court and as an Assistant Magistrate in the same institution. He was a member of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG-ONU), where he accompanied Ivan Velasquez, the current Minister of Defense in charge of the organization.

Luz Adriana Camargo Garzón, Colombia's new Attorney General. Credit: Supreme Court

The Two more candidates for the post, in the final list sent to the court by President Gustavo Pedro in August 2023, lawyers Amelia Perez, who resigned her application this Tuesday, and Angela Maria Buitrago. Martha Mazera, who is currently serving as Attorney General, served as Deputy Attorney General in the Francisco Barbosa administration. The court, through its president, Judge Jerson Chavera, said that elections could be held even if Amelia Perez resigned.

The election follows growing tensions between judges and the government of President Gustavo Pedro. The high court said there was undue pressure from Pedro, who on February 8 called for protests demanding the replacement of ex-lawyer Barbosa, at a time when the court was preparing to choose three candidates proposed by the executive.