Rosa Villavicencio, previously Deputy Foreign Minister, has been appointed by President Gustavo Petro in Colombia as the new, acting, Foreign Minister, replacing Laura Sarabia, who resigned. Villavicencio will serve on an interim basis for an indefinite period until the government appoints a permanent minister.
Sarabia submitted her resignation last week after expressing disagreements with the president on various issues, particularly concerning the management policy for passport issuance in Colombia.
Colombia’s new Foreign Minister: Rosa Villavicencio
The appointment of Rosa Villavicencio as Colombia’s acting Foreign Minister comes amid a diplomatic crisis with the United States, following both countries having summoned their diplomats for consultations.
Several days earlier, on July 3rd, Laura Sarabia submitted her resignation. However, the underlying reason for her departure was unrelated to this event, stemming instead from internal government affairs.
Controversy over the passport issuance model was behind the decision of the once highly influential politician, who had been very close to the president during his first years in office.
Shortly before the handover ceremony, following a lengthy meeting with the president at the presidential palace, Sarabia stated that “today I can officially say that my time in the Government has ended.”
Nevertheless, the former minister expressed gratitude to who, until yesterday had been her boss, and voiced support for her successor–and until her departure, right hand at the ministry–Rosa Villavicencio.
“We will be working alongside her, and I will be handing over my management of the last six months. [I express] my full gratitude to President Petro. These were three years of intense work by his side, Sarabia stated.
Who is Rosa Villavicencio?
Rosa Villavicencio was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in June, replacing Daniel Avila, thereby becoming Laura Sarabia’s right hand at the helm of the ministry.
An Economics graduate, she holds a specialization in International Cooperation for Development, a degree she completed in Madrid, Spain. In fact, Villavicencio lived in Spain for over two decades, where she became a citizen and worked to defend migrants’ rights and promote equal opportunity.
Between 2016 and 2022, she served as General Secretary of the organization America, Spain, Solidarity and Cooperation (AESCO), focused on the integration and co-development of migrant communities.
In Madrid, she also became involved in politics, serving as a member of the Madrid Assembly, the regional parliament, for the Socialist Party. She was the first Latin American woman to hold a seat in that institution.
Upon returning to Colombia, she worked for the Bogotá city government between 2015 and 2016 before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There, she led the Internal Working Group “Colombia Nos Une” (Colombia unites us), an initiative aimed at strengthening ties with Colombians abroad and facilitating their return to the country.
Her appointment last month as Deputy Minister was controversial due to her limited diplomatic experience. Consequently, her current appointment as head of the ministry deepens the skepticism of those who believe Colombian diplomacy—especially during these conflicted times—should be led by someone with extensive experience.