General Pedro Sánchez was sworn in as Colombia’s new defence minister on 19 February, replacing Iván Velásquez (2022-2025) as President Gustavo Petro bucked a longstanding norm that has seen the defence ministry under civilian control for most of the last four decades. A backlash to Sánchez’s appointment may have contributed to his announcement the following day that he was retiring from active military service. He faces a daunting set of challenges, particularly a sweeping offensive in north-eastern Colombia by the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group, which has thrown Petro’s flagship peace policy into doubt [SSR-25-02].End of preview - This article contains approximately 1312 words.
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