Meet Colombia’s New President

Posted on Aug 8, 2010

news.bbc.co.uk

New President Juan Manuel Santos, draped in a Colombian flag sash, gets a hug at his inauguration Saturday.

Colombia has a new president, Juan Manuel Santos, who was sworn in on Saturday and will immediately face a fractured diplomatic state—Venezuela and Ecuador have severed ties with the country—along with continuing drug violence and a long-festering rebel insurgency.

Santos, who beat out leftist challenger and Abraham Lincoln-beard stand-in Antanas Mockus, is expected to continue in former President Alvaro Uribe’s political footsteps. —JCL

The BBC:

Juan Manuel Santos has been sworn in as the new president of Colombia.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Santos said that mending relations with neighbours Ecuador and Venezuela would be one of his government’s main priorities.

In response, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would like to meet “face-to-face” with Mr Santos.

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