The late Defense Secretary prepared to launch his presidential campaign with a view to 2022. He was two months away from the deadline to resign and achieve a goal he had already pursued: to reach the Casa de Nariño.
The political nation was shaken by mourning a tragic news: Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Defense Minister, died at dawn this Tuesday from pneumonia caused by COVID-19. He had been hospitalized urgently since January 12 last year and his death was reported today at almost 2 a.m.
(Read: Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Secretary of Defense, died of COVID-19)
The high official’s death marks three days of national mourning announced this morning by President Iván Duque, but not only that. It undoubtedly caused an earthquake in the Democratic Center, the ruling party, as Trujillo was one of the key parts to succeed Duque in 2022.
The fact was that the minister planned to step down in order to fully live out his ambition and thus realize his dream: to reach the House of Nariño to rule the Colombians. He was two months away from the deadline to do so: 12 months before the election date, he no longer became a civil servant, so he was unable to run.
(Read this profile: Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Duque’s faithful squire)
In the latter part of his political career, Carlos Holmes Trujillo had mapped out his way to the presidency. After participating in several governments, he wanted to run for Uribism in 2013, but lost to Óscar Iván Zuluga, who aspired to Juan Manuel Santos, but lost. The same happened during the last election contest in which he failed in a candidacy against that of current President Duque.
In today’s political landscape, several figures from Uribismo revealed that the campaign was indeed Trujillo’s next step and that his party supported him. “Our last conversation was a long one, we discussed all topics. His resignation was a fact. My thanks to him are endless; for everything he did for me, and everything he did for Colombia, ”Senator Paloma Valencia told the Fm.
(As a reminder, the Secretary of Defense’s last public act: in the Magdalena and in the midst of controversy)
Likewise, Ernesto Yamhure, columnist and friend, told Semana that Trujillo planned to step down in the second week of February so as not to disqualify himself. But he still had that sorrow in his heart that he had a duty to fulfill, a job to be completed at the Department of Defense, and that was what he was focused on. He had such a crossroads in his soul between his legitimate personal aspiration and his commitment to the country at the head of the defense portfolio, ” he told the portal.
His death will thus represent a movement within the Democratic Center in the coming months to replace Trujillo’s figure at the next election contest. Not without first saying goodbye to the Minister of Defense.
Dr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo embodied all desirable virtues in a politician: constancy in beliefs, executive capacity, imperishable will, and unending love for Colombia. He was a statesman who had the land in mind, he knew his ailments down to the last detail and always knew how to work to fix them. His life should set an example for future generations who want to contribute to the construction of a better Colombia. Carlos Holmes Trujillo was the great lord of politics, ”the Uribista community described the official in the Democratic Center Bank’s statement lamenting this loss.