More than a million votes supported his candidacy.
News Colombia.
Ivan Cepeda Castro is a Colombian politician, philosopher, activist and senator, widely recognized for his work in the defense of human rights and his role as one of the most visible leaders of the left in Colombia. He was born in Bogotá in 1962 and is the son of Manuel Cepeda Vargas, former senator of the Patriotic Union assassinated in 1994, a fact that deeply marked his life and political career.
Conviction of former President Álvaro Uribe overturned in cases of bribery and procedural fraud
Cepeda studied Philosophy at the University of Sofia, in Bulgaria, and carried out postgraduate studies in human rights and historical memory. Since his youth, he has been a defender of the victims of the armed conflict and a promoter of the search for justice for state crimes. Before coming to Congress, he founded the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (Movice), a key organization in denouncing human rights violations in Colombia.
In the political sphere, Iván Cepeda has been one of the most prominent figures of the Alternative Democratic Pole and later of the Historical Pact, a coalition of progressive and left-wing forces. He has been a senator for several periods, where he has led political control debates on issues of peace, paramilitarism and corruption.
His firm style, his oratory and his closeness to social sectors have earned him both admiration and controversies. Cepeda was one of the main defenders of the Peace Agreement with the FARC, and has maintained a critical stance towards right-wing political sectors, especially towards Uribism, with which he has had strong public confrontations.
On October 26, 2025, Cepeda consolidated himself as the winner of the presidential consultation of the Historical Pact, obtaining almost 65% of the votes against Carolina Corcho. His victory positions him as the official candidate of the left for the 2026 elections and as the political heir of the project led by President Gustavo Petro.
With this victory, Iván Cepeda promises to lead what he himself has called “the second wave of change”, a new stage that will seek to deepen social reforms, strengthen social justice and continue the transformation process initiated by the current government.
Iván Cepeda and the case that brought former President Álvaro Uribe to trial
Iván Cepeda Castro and Álvaro Uribe Vélez have been protagonists of one of the most notorious political and judicial confrontations in the recent history of Colombia. It all started in 2012, when former President Uribe denounced then-Congressman Cepeda before the Supreme Court of Justice for allegedly manipulating witnesses in prisons to link him to paramilitary groups. However, the investigation took an unexpected turn six years later.
In 2018, the Supreme Court acquitted Iván Cepeda of all accusations and, instead, decided to open a formal investigation against Álvaro Uribe Vélez for the crimes of bribery and procedural fraud. According to the high court, there was no evidence that Cepeda had offered benefits or pressured inmates, but there were indications that those close to the former president had tried to influence witnesses to alter their statements.
This judicial turn made Uribe, one of the most powerful political leaders in the country, under investigation. In the process, the former president was convicted in the first instance of bribery and procedural fraud, but was later acquitted in the second instance by the Superior Court of Bogotá, which considered that there was insufficient evidence to maintain the conviction.
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