BOGOTA: Colombia’s new President Ivan Duque has his work cut out for him as he takes office on Tuesday amid heightened tensions with neighbouring Venezuela and the lingering difficulties of peace-building with the nation’s rebel groups.

The right-wing Duque, who is just 42 years old, succeeds Juan Manuel Santos — and could work to undo the deal his predecessor reached with leftist FARC guerrillas to end a half-century of conflict.

The former lawyer and senator also must face an ongoing battle against drug traffickers, a shocking spate of murders of rights activists and a promise to implement agrarian reform.

And Colombia’s political left, soundly defeated in June elections, will protest on Tuesday as Duque is sworn into office in the presence of several regional leaders including Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto and Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno.

Duque’s success will depend in large part on his connection to popular former president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), who handpicked the political novice to help the right — which opposed the deal with the FARC — to regain power.

“His mentor’s situation and relations with Venezuela are the keys” to Duque’s presidency, political scientist Diana Avellaneda from Javeriana University said.

Relations with Caracas took a dive at the weekend when Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro claimed to have been the victim of an “assassination” attempt — and put the blame on Santos, “ultra right-wing” domestic opponents and the US.

Bogota called the accusation “absurd.” Duque looks set to stand up to Colombia’s neighbor to the east, demanding “free elections” following a May poll that saw Maduro re-elected, which was boycotted by Vene­zu­ela’s opposition.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2018