Colombian Defense Minister Resigns
Guillermo Botero, the former-defense minister of Colombia. (Wikimedia)
Colombian Defense Minister Guillermo Botero resigned from his position after serving for 13 months. Botero allegedly had knowledge of the murder of eight children during a military operation in eastern Colombia. Though Botero denied the accusation that he knew of the casualties during the time of the attack, it is still unclear whether he was later made aware of this information and intentionally withheld it from the public. The bombing targeted a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) camp and also resulted in the death of nine other civilians.
The Colombian Congress officially censured Botero a day before his resignation, following the statements of Senator Roy Barrerras during a hearing. When exposing the truth behind the demographics of those that were killed, Barrerras claimed, “That information was hidden from Colombians… minors were bombed and then re-victimized by being presented as criminals.” However, President Ivan Duque described the bombing as “a strategic, meticulous, impeccable, and rigorous operation.” Under pressure from Congress, Botero then released a statement on his Twitter account reading, “It is my duty as minister of defense to have an appropriate read on the political climate, which is why I have decided to present my resignation.”
If Botero had not resigned, he would likely have been the first government minister to be forcibly removed from his post. He lacked the support of any political group in Congress following.
Though this is the most-publicized controversy, this is not the first of Botero’s controversial actions while in office. Previously, he claimed that an ex-FARC member was killed due to an encounter with the police that quickly got out of hand, when in reality, the rebel’s murder was plotted out in advance by Colombian soldiers. The Colombian army commander also issued an order to double the amount of rebels targeted and killed in official military operations, which occurred under Botero’s watch. A previous June vote to censure Botero was unsuccessful.
Botero’s resignation is a sign of instability for Duque. According to political analysts, Duque has to restore a trustworthy image for his administration and especially for his military, before protests against his presidency escalate even further. The Duque administration has a history of assigning key military positions based on patronage, which has been a source of turmoil in the Ministry of National Defense. The country will be watching whomever Duque appoints to the position, since the new defense minister will be tasked with the crucial responsibility of handling an array of the country’s threats, including criminal groups, drug trafficking, and illegal mining, among others.