The Colombian Congress supports the Minister of Defense and gives Iván Duque a break

Diego Molano, Minister of Defense, during the debate on the motion of censure in the Colombian Congress Leonardo Vargas / HANDOUT / EFE

The questioned Colombian Defense Minister, Diego Molano, remains in office. Despite the allegations that it has stigmatized social mobilization and has given a "war treatment" to the management of the protests that have spread throughout the country and cornered the government of Iván Duque in the last month. Faced with these accusations related to human rights violations during the social outbreak, which has provoked a wave of criticism against the violent repression of the protesters, Congress has thrown a life preserver on the official on Thursday. A large majority in the Senate has rejected the motion of no confidence presented by opposition forces.

Both the parties that support the Government and many legislators of the forces that have declared themselves independent were not willing to hand over the head of one of the most important cabinet ministers in the midst of the crisis.

Molano received the support of the Democratic Center, the conservatives, Radical Change and the U Party, as well as some liberals.

The account ended with 69 rejections of the motion of censure and 31 supporters, mainly from the Green Alliance, the Polo and the left-wing movement linked to the former presidential candidate Gustavo Petro.

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• The repression of protests in Colombia puts the defense minister on the ropes

The vote also represents a respite for the weakened Duque government amid a political gale that has already prompted the resignation of other members of the Cabinet. The demonstrations have led both Alberto Carrasquilla, the finance minister who proposed the failed tax reform that opened the box of thunder, and Claudia Blum, the foreign minister who faced international criticism of Colombia. The president has also decided to relieve his Minister of Culture as part of several adjustments and castings. The cascade of resignations included the high commissioner for peace, Miguel Ceballos, replaced as negotiating leader in the dialogues with the promoters of the strike by the presidential adviser for Stabilization (formerly Post-conflict), Emilio Archila.

The Senate assumed the first of the two censure motion debates that Molano has faced this week, as the House of Representatives also summoned the official - although the result of this Thursday's vote prevents him from moving forward. The opposition exhibited hundreds of videos in plenary on Monday and even gave the floor to victims and relatives of the deceased. Iván Cepeda, one of the senators who called the debate, accused the minister of being "one of the highest political leaders in the systematic chain of crimes against humanity" perpetrated by agents of the public force, which he has also denounced in international instances. Several of the episodes they documented have already fueled widespread public outrage at police brutality,but they did not convince the legislators to force the removal of the minister.

Accompanied by the military leadership, Molano vehemently defended himself in Congress. “We respect peaceful protest, but we are also strong against violence and the de facto ways that affect all Colombians. When the first stone is thrown, the peaceful demonstration ends ”, he alleged during the debates. "I understand this decision as a vote of confidence in the institution of the armed forces and the Ministry of Defense," he declared after the vote. Since taking office four months ago, he has been surrounded by controversy. Added to the deterioration of security, which includes the incessant murder of social leaders, are the repeated episodes of police abuse that had already aroused rejection in the streets since before last month's protests.He had also faced in March the scandal over the death of several minors in a bombing against dissidents from the extinct FARC guerrilla. At the time, he referred to those victims of forced recruitment as “war machines”.

The departure of the Defense Minister has also become a claim of the strike committee, which groups together the union and student organizations that call the marches. In the dialogues with the Government, they have demanded an end to the repression, guarantees for the mobilization and that the president firmly condemn the abuses by the police. The figures are not entirely clear. While the Office of the Prosecutor registers 43 deaths since April 28, the Human Rights Watch organization has received credible complaints about 63 deaths and has confirmed so far that 28 are related to the protests (26 protesters or bystanders and 2 police officers). The abuses have revived the debate on a thorough reform of the security forces. Several experts argue that to strengthen civilian command,the police must pass from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of the Interior.

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