Colombian President Appoints Former Senator Claudia Blum As New Foreign Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) Colombian President Ivan Duque said on Tuesday he had appointed former senator Claudia Blum as the country's new Foreign Minister.

"I inform the country that I appointed Dr. Claudia Blum the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. She previously served as senator and ambassador, now she is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. She has extensive experience in political and international affairs," Duque wrote on Twitter.

Last week, Duque said that Carlos Holmes Trujillo, who served as head of the country's foreign minister since August 2018, will become the defense minister instead of Guillermo Botero, who resigned last week after the scandal involving the deaths of children during a military operation.

The scandal erupted after it was revealed that the operation against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group, which was portrayed as successful by the authorities, led to the death of not only 14 militants but eight minors believed to have been recruited by force.

The defense minister was also accused of manipulating information and photo evidence for Colombia's dossier for the United Nations on the situation in neighboring Venezuela.