Colonel Minister of Defense died of coronavirus

Colombian Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo (Photo), died at the age of 69 after being hospitalized for 15 days with coronavirus. On January 15, Trujillo, who held senior positions in three governments, was transferred to an intensive care unit due to severe deterioration in his lung function. President Iván Duque has decreed three days of national mourning to honor “the memory of Dr Carlos Holmes Trujillo García and all the fatal victims of the novel coronavirus”.

Trujillo was one of the president’s closest people and his name sounded to succeed him as head of state in 2022. He represented the most conservative sector of the Democratic Center and his tenure in the Defense portfolio left much criticism for his unrestricted protection from the police and military who received serious complaints of human rights violations and corruption. In 2020 alone and in the midst of the pandemic, the United Nations recorded 66 massacres in Colombian territory. Faced with the violence, Trujillo chose to blame the government of former President Juan Manuel Santos and accused the left of “politiculation”.

“It is with deep pain and sadness that I learned the news of the death of our Minister of Defense, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, who died early in the morning after health complications while fighting covid-19”, said President Iván Duque, surrounded by Colombian military leaders. In the video posted to his Twitter account, the president expressed solidarity with the family of the former foreign minister.

“He was my friend, my wrestling partner, my teammate and my minister in two portfolios. His life reflected a vocation for public service,” said Duque. by highlighting the merits of the “consecrated diplomat”, who was Minister of Education, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Defense. Since January 18, General Fernando Navarro, Commander of the Colombian Military Forces, has acted as Minister responsible in replacement of Trujillo and will continue to hold this post for the time being.

Trujillo was born on September 23, 1951 in Cartago, a town in the Valle del Cauca department, and graduated in law from the local university. He had a long political career as mayor of his city, he was minister of three governments and ambassador in several countries of the European Union. His weight in the Democratic Center increased with Duque’s emergence as a presidential candidate in 2018, and has come to emerge as the map of a difficult sector of Uribe for the next election.

Trujillo was Chancellor of the Duque government between August 2018 and the end of 2019, when he assumed the defense portfolio in a country in permanent conflict. As head of external relations, Trujillo had led the so-called “diplomatic seat” with which the government lobbied for the departure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and supported the opposition Juan Guaidó as president in charge. ..

From the Ministry of Defense, Trujillo faced the worst attack by armed groups since the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas in 2016. For the minister at the time, These crimes were motivated by the expansion of drug trafficking under the government of Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018). Trujillo led the campaign to eradicate illicit crops in response to Washington’s criticism of the exponential growth in acres cultivated with coca.

Its management in the Defense portfolio was also marked by its J’amparo for the military and police involved in complaints of abuse of force, human rights violations or corruption. Despite the actions denounced by various social organizations, Trujiilo successfully bypassed several no-confidence motions promoted by the opposition in Congress.