The stereotype depicted in Narcos of Colombia as a country led by its drug barons is outdated says Juan Felipe Bonivento (LLM 2023), who has aspirations to join the judiciary.

Juan Felipe read Law at Los Andes University in Bogota, graduating in 2019, and worked as a litigator in a law firm before three years as a Law Clerk for a justice in one of Colombia’s High Courts. He was also involved in academia as a lecturer and teaching assistant.

He decided to leave for the University of Cambridge and Gonville & Caius College in a seismic move.

“Before coming here I quit my job,” he says. “It does feel like a gamble; it would’ve been more comfortable to stay in the job I had. But there was no other choice. It was what needed to be done and I am confident I will find something. 

“Part of the idea is to take a moment and think what I believe my next step would be. I would love to go back to the judiciary – it’s what I love the most – but I wouldn’t rule out trying private practice for a while to get a fuller picture of the law.”

Funded by Chevening Scholarship, Juan Felipe is keen to make a difference in Colombia and to continue in private and public law for as long as both remain feasible.

He adds: “My interest in doing the LLM is mostly academic, because we do have a very different legal system in Colombia to the UK. That’s the point – to broaden my perspective of the law.

“One of the things I would like to do in the future is to be a judge. And to come here I hope it will help me to come to more considered decisions in the future.”

In terms of the stereotypes perpetuated by the media, Juan Felipe says: “Colombia has changed a lot in the last 30 years. It’s not today a lawless society. It’s quite a legalistic society; lawyers for everything, rules for everything. The judiciary has a lot of work and we over-rely on it to solve our problems. 

“A most challenging thing for judges in Colombia is how to deal with all the underlying problems we have that probably the law cannot solve. Like extreme inequality, high levels of poverty, knowing the state’s resources might not be enough to do what we should do in order to make just decisions. That’s a more pressing challenge judges now have in Colombia. You need policy makers, judges and everyone to come together to try to make it better.”

Juan Felipe has lived in Bogota for his whole life, bar six months in London as an undergraduate which did not include a trip to Cambridge. He is enjoying the slower pace of a smaller city.

He says: “A friend of mine also applying to Cambridge asked around and someone mentioned Caius to him. I copied him – and I’m very happy about it being the right choice! 

“He didn’t end up coming here – he went to the United States for a more specialised programme in law and technology.

“I was fortunate to have a choice and I ended up here. I’m very happy. This is my friend’s legacy!

“The postgraduate community is just amazing. There are people that do so many different things. I’ve had conversations ranging from zoology to chemistry to tax policy – which is unbelievable. To me, how everything revolves around dining is amazing. It’s a great way to meet different people.”