Pilar Rueda returns to Colombia's JEP amid reform debate

Anthropologist and human‑rights defender Pilar Rueda Jiménez, wife of Senator Iván Cepeda, resumed her role as advisor to the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP) on 8 July, after having resigned during the 2026 presidential campaign to support her husband’s candidacy.

Her return comes as President‑elect Abelardo de la Espriña has pledged to overhaul the JEP, calling it a “farce” and demanding greater accountability. Justice Minister Iván Cancino later clarified that the new government seeks reforms, not abolition, citing constitutional and international obligations tied to the 2016 peace agreement. The JEP remains a central pillar of Colombia’s transitional‑justice system, tasked with investigating the most serious crimes of the armed conflict.

Fact‑checking agencies have dismissed social‑media rumours linking Rueda to alleged cover‑ups, confirming her public record at the JEP since 2018. The episode highlights the political tension surrounding Colombia’s peace‑process institutions as the new administration prepares its agenda.