CHIEF OF THE JOIN STAFF OF THE MILITARY FORCES

GENERAL HUGO ALEJANDRO LÓPEZ BARRETO 

General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto was born in the city of Cali on September 20, 1968. He is the son of Orlando López Ramírez and Elsa Barreto Fierro and the second of four children. His siblings are Óscar, Andrés and Lina María, who together with their parents have forged a stable family based on principles and values. He has been married for 25 years to María Marcela Martínez Duarte and his children Nicolás and Alejandra were born from that union.

The General is a Catholic person who has grown up in his professional career hand in hand with his family, his beliefs, his principles and his love for the homeland.

On January 20, 1984, at the age of 15, he entered the General José María Córdova Military Cadet School. Subsequently, on December 05, 1987, he graduated as a Second Lieutenant of the Cavalry branch. He is a professional in Military Sciences, qualified as a military professor of the Army War Academy of Chile. He has a postgraduate degree in higher-level pedagogy of the Universidad de los Andes in Chile.

He is in the same way a military professor of the Colombian Army and a Master's Degree in Security and Defense of the Superior School of War. He has completed military courses of Lancero and paratrooper; he in the same way has a Diploma in Human Rights and IHL, and a Psychological Operations course in the USA, which have led him to build his military career framed in the respect for the Constitution and the Law.

Currently, Mr. General López Barreto serves as Chief of the Joint Staff of the Military Forces, appointed by the President of the Republic, the Ministry of National Defense and the General Command of the Military Forces. He has served in various positions, including Commander of the Strategic Joint Transition Command (CCOET) and Military Peace Observer, as a member of the delegation for negotiations with the ELN on behalf of the Military Forces, Inspector General of the Military Forces, Director General of Military Health of the Military Forces during the COVID-19 pandemic, Commander of the Joint Command No. 1 Caribbean and No. 4 Orinoquía, Commander of the First Division of Colombian National Army in the Colombian Caribbean, Commander of the Comprehensive operation and Development Support Command of Colombian National Army, where he managed to support the most vulnerable communities in the national territory, Commander of the Vulcano Task Force in the Department of Norte de Santander, Military Assistant of the Colombian Embassy in Washington, Commander of the Sumapaz Task Force, Commander of the Mobile Brigade No. 21 in the department of Tolima and Huila, Director of the Military School of Non-Commissioned Officers, Guest Professor at the War Academy of the Chilean Army, Adjutant General of Colombian National Army Command and Commander of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Battalion No. 3 in the south of the country, among others. The following decorations have been awarded to him: Order of Boyacá, Order of Military Merit José María Córdova in the Grand Officer and Commander categories, Distinguished Services in Law and order Medal (four times), Order of Military Merit Antonio Nariño in the Grand Officer and Commander categories, Bicentenary Medal of the Liberating Campaign, Bicentenary Medal of the Cavalry, Medal Faith in the Cause of the General Command of the Military Forces, Medal “Fe en la Causa” of Colombian National Army, Medal Distinguished Services to the Military Forces of Colombia, Medal of the Military School of Officers General José María Córdoba, Medal of the Military School of Non-Commissioned Officers Sergeant Inocencio Chinca, medal Diosa Minerva of the War Academy of the Army of Chile, among others. During his time as Director General of Military Health he was recognized with the distinction of The Exemplary Colombian, in the category “Commitment to face the health emergency in the face of COVID-19". 

He was promoted to the rank of General on August 7, 2024, as a result of his unwavering commitment to the Nation. Currently, the high-ranking officer has more than 40 years of service since joining the Colombian National Army, leading him to know in detail the most profound social problems of the country.