BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Colombia’s Defence Minister Rodrigo Rivera resigned yesterday as the Andean country’s security forces face growing criticism for failing to thwart attacks from weakened Marxist guerrillas.
Rivera had held the post since conservative President Juan Manuel Santos took office a year ago. Government sources said Rivera’s resignation could lead to a broad command restructuring of the armed forces and national police.
Santos named Juan Carlos Pinzon as the new defense minister. Pinzon is an economist who until now worked as a close adviser to the president and was deputy defense minister in the government of Colombia’s former leader Alvaro Uribe.
