Later, under the government of Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, he served as Minister of the Treasury. After participating briefly in the Convention of Ríonegro which would produce the Constitution of Rionegro as a representative of the state of Panama, he decided to leave the country in 1863. He first lived in New York City for two years, writing for a number of newspapers both in Colombia and in Spain. Then, he was appointed consul of the United States of Colombia in Le Havre by president Murillo Toro, and later, he was appointed as the Colombian Consul in Liverpool.