Colombian defence ministry spills secrets in email
27 February 2014 Last updated at 16:07 ET
Colombian defence ministry spills secrets in email
By Anthony Zurcher
Editor, Echo Chambers
Emailing errors are embarrassing, but they happen every day. Emailing errors that reveal secret details of high-level diplomatic missions, however, can cause a bit of a stir.
Such was the case when Colombian Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon travelled to Washington DC on Wednesday for three days of meetings with US officials in the Obama administration and Congress.
Prior to the visit, the defence ministry's prensa@mindefensa.gov.co email account accidentally sent a 55-page document in English to dozens of journalists in Washington with details of Mr Pinzon's visit, from the important (strategy and points of emphasis) to the mundane (the minister's frequent flier number, where he will be staying and what he will be eating).
The Colombian Spanish-language magazine Semana says the incident has turned the diplomatic mission into a drama.
"The objective of the visit was to project Colombia's transformation as well as the modernisation of the Armed Forces and the National Police, but it has become an awkward episode for the minister," it reports (in Spanish).
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http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-26374884