The House of Representatives concluded this Wednesday the debate on the motion of censure against Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez in an environment marked by sharp criticism, complaints about the increase in violence, questions about the deaths of minors in military operations and alleged new cases of false positives. The vote was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16, the last day of the legislative session.
Chamber representative Katherine Miranda was one of the keynote speakers and presented figures that she said reflect a deterioration in the country’s security. During his intervention, he denounced that 153 members of the public authorities were murdered between January and October 2025, making it “the highest number since 2015”.
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Miranda also stated that 527 people were kidnapped during the same period, a number he described as “the highest since 2006.”
In her speech, the congresswoman stated: “Mr. Minister, between January and October 2025, 153 members of the public authorities were murdered. (…) But I also tell you, Mr. Minister, the kidnapped: between January and October 2025, five hundred and twenty-seven people were kidnapped throughout the national territory. Minister, the highest number since 2006.”
Miranda also compared the growth of armed groups in the governments of Iván Duque and that of Gustavo Petro. He claimed that they increased by 2.3% during Duque’s mandate, while the number of combatants increased from “15,120 combatants to over 25,000” between 2022 and 2025. which would correspond to an increase of almost 70%.
Representative Miranda also mentioned alleged new cases of extrajudicial killings that, she reported, had taken place in Ituango (Antioquia) and Vistahermosa (Meta).
In one case he stated: “Three soldiers reportedly shot a civilian when he pleaded not to be killed. Then, the complaint states, they untied his hands, rearranged the body and placed a weapon on it to simulate a fight.”
Miranda pointed out that these types of events are serious indicators, and in his words: “These are false alarms, Minister. What is happening in the government of the ‘World Power of Life’ is very serious.”
Minister Pedro Sánchez responded that these incidents were being investigated, stating: “This is being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and we hope that all severity will be applied (…) We will not tolerate this.”
Another strong voice in the debate was that of MP Catherine Juvinao, who questioned the official reports of minors killed in combat and air operations. He claimed that “Not 31 minors died (…), but 54“.
His post states: “During the government of Gustavo Petro, 54 minors died either in bombings or in clashes with public forces.”
Aside from that, He assured that there would be “five bombings about which the Colombian state would have no information.”“, he said, which would prevent us from knowing how many people died or whether there were more minors among the victims.
MP Juan Carlos Losada announced his vote for the motion with the words: “There can be no double standards here when it comes to the lives of minors who are victims of the armed conflict. Either you stand on the side of the victims here or you accept the declining discourse that these children are perpetrators.”
In contrast, the representative of the Historical Pact said, Alejandro Ocampo defended Minister Sánchez’s leadership and assured that the armed forces are not involved in crimes as at other times in the country.
He stated: “Military forces that are not implicated in crimes previously committed in other governments (…) are today for us a reason for celebration and pride in our soldiers, our generals and our minister. And something I have to say here, because I cannot hide it, is that I do not like bombings in which children die.”
After almost five hours of discussion, Minister Sánchez began his presentation to a virtually empty plenary session at around 5:30 in the afternoon.
At the end of the meeting, around 6:30 p.m., there were only 16 representatives left in the room.including Miranda, Juvinao, Carolina Arbeláez, Wilmer Castellanos, Andrés Forero and Hernán Cadavid.
Voting will take place on Tuesday, December 16th at 9:00 a.m. This request adds to the numerous allegations of political control that the government has faced over security issues. So far, no motion of no confidence against this government has been successful, so next Tuesday’s decision will be crucial in determining whether Minister Pedro Sánchez continues to head the defense portfolio.
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