Changes in the Foreign Ministry: This is how the new internal restructuring has been taking place since Rosa Villavicencio took over.

The Foreign Ministry is once again experiencing a major internal upheaval, this time motivated by the departure of Laura Sarabia and the temporary appointment of Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio Mapy. Approximately two weeks ago, the entire management team was asked to resign , and new faces are gradually arriving at an institution where Alfredo Saade is emerging as a figure with growing influence.

EL TIEMPO learned that the resignations were requested during the handover sessions and there were no objections. At press time, the resignations of the heads of the Human Rights and International Cooperation (attached to the office of the Vice Ministry of Multilateral Affairs) and Border Integration (the minister's office) departments had been accepted. The director of the Administrative and Financial Directorate also resigned.

"In general, all the directors have been asked to resign, and at this point, anyone can leave," said the San Carlos Palace.

The situation has raised eyebrows in the corridors because it occurred in the middle of an assignment and not under a permanent chancellor. However, something similar happened during Luis Gilberto Murillo's term as acting minister, when he removed several officials close to the suspended Álvaro Leyva out of distrust.

The heads of the thematic departments are also on the way out. Sources indicate that approval has already been given for the departure of the directors of the Americas and Asia. "We are still adjusting, and the changes are not over, so we are still waiting for the new lines of action to be announced and everything that may come with them," the Ministry added.

This newspaper asked Deputy Minister Mauricio Jaramillo if he had also been asked to resign, but he indicated that in his case there had been no such request.

One of the most visible changes to date is that of the General Secretariat. Elvira de las Mercedes Sanabria Salazar , who signed the passport agreement with the National Printing Office, landed there. Sanabria provided monitoring services for the processes of the Ministry of the Interior's Directorate of Religious Affairs , as well as technical and administrative management for the implementation of the National System of Religious Freedom between September and December 2023, a period when Alfredo Saade controlled the agency.

According to government sources, she comes to the Foreign Ministry from the Presidential Office, where she has been advising Saade. Therefore, she is seen as a key figure of the self-proclaimed pastor.

In fact, another person who has been working at the Foreign Ministry for several years was going to be appointed, but the appointment ended up being decided in favor of the candidate from the Casa de Nariño.

Another important change recently took place in the Human Talent Department. Carlos Arley Orozco Gómez, a sociologist by profession who was president of the Green Party in Risaralda and who has spent most of his career as a contractor, arrived there. His predecessor, Luz Ángela Cendales, had been appointed to that position in February of this year, when Sarabia assumed the diplomatic portfolio.

As the internal restructuring has taken shape, Acting Foreign Minister Villavicencio has surrounded herself with trusted advisors . One of them is Francisco Antonio Buchardt Melo, who in recent years led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Employees Union (SEMREX), an organization that has openly supported the former director of Colombia Nos Une.

An investigation by Diplomacia Abierta shows that, just as in the cabinet, there has been an unprecedented turnover among those holding senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . In the nearly three years since the Petro administration began, 51 people have been appointed to the 21 senior positions within the entity . Some positions, such as technical director of the Directorate of Multilateral Political Affairs or head of the Internal Legal Advisory Office, have passed through four pairs of hands since August 2022.

In the three months after Luis Gilberto Murillo was appointed minister, that is, from May to August 2024, 12 of the 21 management positions in the Foreign Ministry saw changes in leadership. The same happened when Laura Sarabia was appointed. From January to April 2025, there were 15 changes in management positions.

Now, the Foreign Ministry remains awaiting the decisions made in the new ministerial shakeup announced by President Gustavo Petro, which could bring more—and profound—changes to the San Carlos Palace.

Juan Pablo Penagos Ramirez