Iván Velásquez Gómez (born 12 May 1955) is a Colombian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. From October 2013 to September 2019, he was the head of the

International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (, CICIG) was an international body charged with investigating and prosecuting serious crime in Guatemala. On January 7, 2019, the agreement between the United Nations and Guatemala was te ...

(CICIG). In August 2022, he took office as Minister of National Defence under President

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...

Biography

Iván Velásquez was born in

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He studied law at the University of Antioquia. Later, he was appointed Antioquia Deputy Prosecutor during 1991 and 1994, where he initiated investigations related to torture, extrajudicial executions and abuses. In 1996 he was assistant magistrate in the Council of State, and a year later he was elected Regional Director of Public Prosecutors' Offices in Medellin for 1997 to 1999.He was elected auxiliary magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia in 2000. Between 2006 and 2012, Velásquez coordinated the Commission of Investigative Support of the Criminal Chamber, in charge of investigating the Parapolitica case. In 2011 he was awarded the World Human Rights Prize by the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA in 2018 had a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associati ...

and a year later the Association of German Judges awarded him for his commitment in the fight against corruption. At the end of September 2013, he was appointed Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) at the level of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization, replacing Francisco Dall'Anese. In 2018 he was awarded the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...

along with

Thelma Aldana Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández (; born 27 September 1955) is a Guatemalan jurist and politician who served as President of the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2012 and as attorney general from 2014 to 2018. Early life and education Thelma Aldan ...

for "their innovative work with CICIG in exposing abuse of power and prosecuting corruption, thus rebuilding people’s trust in public institutions". On 27 June 2022 he was appointed new Minister of National Defense under President-elect

. On 2 June 2025, a Guatemalan appeals court acting on a request by the office of the Attorney General of Guatemala ordered the arrest of Velásquez over his role in CICIG.

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Velásquez Gómez, Iván 1955 births Living people People from Medellín Politicians from Antioquia 21st-century Colombian judges 20th-century Colombian lawyers 21st-century Colombian politicians University of Antioquia alumni Academic staff of the University of Antioquia Colombian officials of the United Nations Petro administration cabinet members Ministers of defense of Colombia