Colombia’s Supreme Court has announced the election of a new president of the Criminal Chamber Wednesday, reported El Espectador.
Following his unanimous election by fellow judges, Jose Leonidas Bustos is now tasked with advancing the debate on judicial reform, currently under discussion in Colombia’s Congress.
Previously vice president of the Supreme Court, Judge Bustos will also be expected to address the ongoing issues of carousel recruitment, whereby officials take posts for short periods to boost pensions and benefits, and ongoing “parapolitics” proceedings against officials accused of having links to paramilitary activities.
The new chairman will also have to deal with the suspicious transfer of assets seized by the National Narcotics Directorate, DNE, the now-defunct government agency charged with redistributing assets from drug trafficking operations, which was closed down in 2011 for corruption.
Judge Bustos previously had a career in academia and was Director of Criminal Law at Universidad Libre in Bogota.
He replaces previous chairman Mauro Solarte Portilla, who resigned for health reasons Thursday.