Controversy over leaked audio of Colombian ambassador and FM

Controversy over leaked audio of Colombian ambassador and FM
Fecha de publicación: 
21 November 2019
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Bogota, Nov 21 (Prensa Latina) A leaked conversation between Colombian Ambassador to the US, Francisco Santos, and Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum, has sparked uproar.

During the controversial dialogue in a Washington restaurant, revealed by Publimetro newspaper, Santos and Blum discuss Colombian foreign policy and members of President Ivan Duque's cabinet.

Santos is heard saying that Carlos Holmes, former Foreign minister and current minister of Defense, did nothing and had no strategy at the Foreign Ministry.

According to Blum, Holmes was a real disaster and was only suring-up his possible presidential candidacy in 2022, which is why she took office to demand results, according to the weekly magazine Semana.

Meanwhile, Santos also said that Guillermo Botero, outgoing Defense Minister, who was forced to resign recently amid criticism of his management, 'did not work.'

According to experts, one of the elements that generates the most controversy due to the impact it could have on Washington-Bogota relations is the fact that the ambassador said that the US Department of State 'is destroyed, it does not exist.'

After the conversation was revealed, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza ruled out the possibility of Bogotá's diplomatic practices towards the Bolivarian nation changing.

He affirmed that the private conversation confirmed the interference of Colombian foreign policy in the internal affairs of Venezuela and affirmed that there is no point in believing in the restructuring of Colombian diplomacy.

'Conversations were leaked in which Blum expresses desperation because there was no coup in Venezuela, (Juan) Guaido is useless, (Donald) Trump hasn't stepped in, the CIA has done nothing, the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance doesn't work,' Arreaza tweeted.

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