The elected president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, presented the team that will prepare the transition with the outgoing government of Gustavo Petro, who set the formal start of the transfer of powers for Thursday.

De la Espriella's transition team is made up of about 1,300 people headed by the vice president-elect, José Manuel Restrepo, who assured that it is "the most audacious bet that has been made in the entire history of Colombia for a transition process."

Restrepo explained that the strategy, called “Noah's Ark,” began eight months ago and will be organized by sectors, each with technical teams in charge of collecting information on the state of the entities, identifying the main challenges and preparing the decisions that the new government must adopt from the beginning of its mandate.

This Tuesday, De la Espriella also appointed the economist and conservative leader Miguel Gómez Martínez as Minister of Finance, a position that he will assume on August 7 with the start of the new government.

“Anti-corruption group” announced to investigate Petro

As part of the plan, the creation of an elite anti-corruption group was announced that will collect complaints and information about alleged irregularities in the Petro administration and that, if merits are found, will transfer the cases to the judicial authorities.

Restrepo's statements provoked a quick response from Petro, who assured in his X account that the transition's emphasis on alleged cases of corruption actually seeks to "ignore the great social advances" of his government and not investigate possible crimes.

Cepeda calls for civil disobedience

Meanwhile, the losing candidate Iván Cepeda asked De la Espriella to renounce his US nationality before assuming the Presidency on August 7, and to clarify the nature of his collaboration with that country's justice system in the case of the Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab, for whom he was a lawyer.

The senator of the Historical Pact assured that, if he does not do so, he will embark on “the path of peaceful civil disobedience” because he will not recognize “the authority of someone who does not respond to the defense of national sovereignty.”

The statements represent a hardening of Cepeda's speech, who, after officially recognizing De la Espriella's victory, had announced that he would exercise a "democratic and constructive" opposition from Congress.

The day also coincided with the publication of the third report of the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS), which congratulated Colombians for a “civic and peaceful” second round, recognized the choice of the formula composed of De la Espriella and Restrepo for the period 2026-2030 and highlighted the work of the electoral authorities.

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