The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, officially announced this Thursday the appointment of Major General Erick Rodríguez Aparicio as the new commander of the Military Forces. The decision marks the return to active service of the military officer, who had been retired last June from his position as deputy chief of operations of the institution’s general command by former president Gustavo Petro. Rodríguez has also served as the second commander of the National Army.
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The retirement of General Rodríguez from the Army was a subject of controversy in the final stretch of Petro’s government, who was accused several times by the most conservative sectors of weakening the Armed Forces in order to consolidate his total peace policy. According to information from last June, the then president was upset by some statements made by Rodríguez, in which he revealed a registration of the population by the dissidents of the extinct FARC in the departments of Meta and Guaviare. Those statements, made in May, apparently accelerated his departure from the institution.
De la Espriella has also announced the appointment of General Carlos Carrasquilla Gómez as chief of the Joint General Staff of the Military Forces, a position in which he will work closely with Rodríguez to lead the armed force. Meanwhile, Major General José Bertulfo Soto will be the new commander of the Army, while Brigadier General Rodolfo Morales Franco will be the second commander of the institution.
The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) — which will be renamed Air Force — will be commanded by Major General Juan Martínez Ossa, who will be accompanied by Major General Juan Mosquera Dueñas as second commander. Finally, Vice Admiral Javier Jaimes Pinilla will be the commander of the Colombian Navy, a position in which he will be accompanied by Major General Rafael Olaya Quintero as second commander.
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Another military officer who will leave retirement is General Óscar Leonel Murillo, who has been appointed to lead the Superior War School. Murillo was also retired from active service during Petro’s government, apparently due to pressures exerted by the ELN guerrilla in the peace negotiation table it maintained with that administration. Throughout his military career, Murillo has held various positions in several regions of the country and was also a military attaché in Israel between 2017 and 2018.
The reinstatement of retired military personnel during Petro’s government was one of the major promises of the now president De la Espriella during the campaign, who used military symbolism as a fundamental part of his aspiration. However, although the appointments announced this Thursday seem to fulfill that promise, taking it further seems to be an impossible mission: during Petro’s administration, a total of 16,384 military personnel left the institution. Of these, 513 were called to service qualification, that is, by decision of the institution. All the others left the Army due to voluntary retirement or to retire.
De la Espriella had also promised during the campaign to review each retirement case by case that occurred throughout Petro’s term, which, according to him, were due to “ideological” reasons, a rather unclear category. And despite the promise also aiming to make a good impression within the Armed Forces, a massive reinstatement would imply an internal restructuring too complex that, for now, is not seen on the horizon.
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