Described the dead minors as 'machines of war'—language critics saw as justifying indiscriminate killing
En los primeros días de octubre de 2023, Diego Molano Aponte inscribió su candidatura a la alcaldía de Bogotá, cerrando un círculo que comenzó en la infancia junto a un padre militar y se extendió por dos décadas de poder ejecutivo en Colombia. Su trayectoria encarna una tensión permanente en las democracias latinoamericanas: la búsqueda del orden como promesa política y el costo humano que esa promesa puede exigir. Molano llega a la contienda electoral cargando tanto credenciales institucionales como preguntas sin respuesta sobre operaciones militares que costaron vidas civiles.
- Un hombre forjado en la tradición castrense y los pasillos del poder federal aspira ahora al cargo más alto de la capital colombiana, convirtiendo su historial de seguridad en su principal argumento de campaña.
- La sombra de once muertos en Putumayo —caídos durante una operación militar que él supervisó en una zona donde cientos de civiles se encontraban reunidos— pesa sobre su candidatura como una pregunta que el electorado deberá responder.
- Críticos y organismos internacionales cuestionaron si los fallecidos eran combatientes o civiles, y aunque Molano fue exonerado formalmente, el debate moral sobre su lenguaje y sus decisiones no ha sido cerrado.
- Bajo el lema 'Reconstruyamos Bogotá', Molano apuesta a que una ciudad golpeada por la inseguridad prefiera sus credenciales de orden a las controversias que las acompañan.
Diego Molano Aponte inscribió su candidatura a la alcaldía de Bogotá en octubre de 2023, presentando una hoja de vida que condensa dos décadas de la historia política colombiana. Nacido en Bogotá en 1970 e hijo de un mayor del Ejército, Molano creció entre la influencia militar y la formación académica: obtuvo sus credenciales de reserva en el Colegio Patria, se graduó en administración de empresas en la Universidad del Rosario y cursó una maestría en administración pública en la Universidad de Columbia.
Su carrera burocrática lo llevó desde la empresa de acueducto de Bogotá hasta la dirección de Acción Social bajo el gobierno de Santos, cargo que enfrentó su primera gran tormenta: acusaciones de que el programa Familias en Acción fue utilizado para movilizar beneficiarios en favor de la campaña presidencial de Santos en 2010. Molano negó cualquier irregularidad y mantuvo su posición hasta 2011.
Tras un paso por el Concejo de Bogotá y una primera candidatura fallida a la alcaldía, el presidente Duque lo convocó en 2020 para encabezar la Presidencia Administrativa y, al año siguiente, para coordinar el diálogo nacional durante el estallido social. Cuando el ministro de Defensa murió de COVID-19, Molano asumió la cartera.
Fue ese capítulo el que definió —y dividió— su figura pública. En 2021, el Ejército mató a varios menores vinculados, según las autoridades, a grupos armados ilegales; Molano los llamó 'máquinas de guerra', expresión que sus críticos interpretaron como una justificación del uso letal indiscriminado. Poco después, una operación en Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo, dejó once muertos en una zona donde se celebraba un mercado con al menos 200 civiles presentes. Organismos internacionales cuestionaron si todos los fallecidos eran combatientes. Molano fue exonerado formalmente de las acusaciones, pero el debate sobre su gestión no se cerró.
Ahora, bajo la bandera 'Reconstruyamos Bogotá', Molano se presenta como el candidato del orden y la seguridad para la capital. Si los votantes pesarán más sus credenciales institucionales o las sombras de su paso por la Defensa es la pregunta que definirá su campaña.
Diego Molano Aponte registered his candidacy for mayor of Bogotá in early October 2023, bringing with him a résumé that reads like a compressed history of Colombian governance over the past two decades. At 53, the business school graduate has moved through the highest corridors of power—from social welfare agencies to the Defense Ministry—accumulating both credentials and controversy along the way.
Molano was born in Bogotá on June 29, 1970, the son of a major in the Colombian Army. His father's death during his adolescence did not diminish the pull of military life; instead, Molano attended Colegio Patria, where he obtained his military reserve credentials. He later earned a degree in business administration from Universidad del Rosario, then a master's in public administration from Columbia University in New York. By the mid-1990s, he had entered politics as an adviser to Senator Luis Alfonso Hoyos, a relationship that would prove foundational to his rise.
His early career wound through the bureaucracy: the Bogotá water utility, where he advised the agency's director; the social component of Plan Colombia under President Álvaro Uribe in 2003; and eventually the directorship of the Department of Social Action and International Cooperation in 2009. That last position became his first major test. In 2010, as Juan Manuel Santos campaigned for the presidency, the social action program faced accusations of improperly mobilizing beneficiaries to support Santos's candidacy. Reports emerged of families being threatened with loss of benefits if they did not back the candidate. Molano denied any wrongdoing and insisted that no official had authorization to use the Familias en Acción program for political purposes. He retained his position until 2011, when President Santos appointed him director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, a role he held for nearly two years before moving to the private sector.
Molano's return to electoral politics came in 2016 when he won a seat on Bogotá's city council. Four years later, after an unsuccessful first bid for mayor, President Iván Duque brought him into the presidential office as head of the Administrative Department of the Presidency. When social unrest erupted across Colombia in 2021, Duque tasked Molano with coordinating the National Conversation—organizing dialogues between the government and civic leaders to manage the crisis. That same year, when Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo died of COVID-19, Molano assumed the defense portfolio.
His tenure as Defense Minister became the defining and most contested chapter of his public life. In March 2021, the Colombian Army killed several minors who officials said belonged to illegal armed groups. Molano described them as "machines of war," language that critics across the political spectrum interpreted as justification for indiscriminate killing. More gravely, a military operation in the rural area of Puerto Leguízamo in Putumayo resulted in eleven deaths. While authorities initially characterized the targets as guerrillas, international organizations and political opponents disputed this account, noting that the operation occurred during a market gathering attended by at least 200 civilians, and that some of the dead may have been non-combatants. Despite the scrutiny and multiple censure motions filed against him, Molano was cleared of all accusations related to his time in the Defense Ministry.
Now, running under the banner of "Reconstruyamos Bogotá," Molano is positioning himself as a security-focused candidate for the capital's highest elected office. His platform emphasizes law and order, a natural extension of his career-long alignment with military and security institutions. Whether voters will embrace his vision or weigh heavily the controversies of his defense tenure remains an open question as the campaign unfolds.
Citas Notables
Described young casualties in a 2021 military operation as 'machines of war,' drawing criticism from multiple political sectors— Diego Molano, as Defense Minister
Denied any wrongdoing in the 2010 social action program controversy, insisting no official had authorization to use Familias en Acción for political purposes— Diego Molano, as director of the Department of Social Action
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How does someone move from running a water utility to overseeing the entire Defense Ministry?
It's a path that makes sense if you understand Colombian politics—relationships matter more than titles. Molano had a mentor in Luis Alfonso Hoyos who kept bringing him into bigger roles. Each position built on the last, and his background in administration and his family's military tradition made him seem like a safe choice for sensitive posts.
The social program controversy in 2010—did that damage him?
It should have, but it didn't. He denied it, the investigation went nowhere, and he kept his job. In Colombian politics, that's often enough. What's interesting is that it showed a pattern: when things got messy, Molano survived.
But the military operations under his watch—those weren't survivable, were they?
They were, actually. Eleven people dead in Putumayo, questions about whether civilians were killed, international organizations raising alarms—and he walked away cleared of charges. That's either a sign of a broken accountability system or a sign that he had powerful protection.
What does it say about him that he's running on security now?
It says he learned something from his time in power. Security is his comfort zone. He knows the military, he knows the language of order and control. Whether that's what Bogotá needs is a different question.
Do you think voters remember the Putumayo operation?
Some will. But memory is short in politics, and Molano's team will frame it differently—as a necessary action against illegal groups. The narrative matters more than the facts sometimes.