By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has named Armando Benedetti as the country’s new interior minister, a source within Petro’s office told Reuters on Tuesday, confirming his place in the leftist’s inner circle despite several scandals involving the ex-lawmaker and resistance from others in the cabinet.
Petro asked all his ministers to present their resignations earlier this month, after a tense televised cabinet meeting where several high-ranking officials objected to Benedetti’s presence as Petro’s then-head of office and his appointment of Laura Sarabia as foreign minister.
Benedetti, 57, replaces Juan Fernando Cristo, who resigned alongside outgoing environment minister Susana Muhamad and others. Petro has made seven major cabinet changes, including defense minister.
Muhamad said during the televised meeting that she opposed the naming of Benedetti to the cabinet over allegations of violence against women and influence peddling. Benedetti has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Benedetti, previously Petro’s ambassador to Venezuela, and Sarabia, who has held various posts and is one of Petro’s closest advisors, were both briefly pushed out of the government in 2023, amid a probe into missing money and allegedly illegal phone intercepts.
Benedetti will be charged with helping Petro push various complex reforms – including to the beleaguered health system – through congress.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime AcostaWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)
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