The resignation of Colombia's Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez from President Gustavo Petro's cabinet is final, the Defense Ministry said on social media, as quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Velasquez joins the interior and environment ministers who are also no longer part of the government.
President Petro asked all ministers to resign on Sunday after a tense cabinet meeting last week. As a result, some cabinet members have resigned.
“In connection with the information circulating in the media, we inform that Defense Minister Ivan Velázquez has submitted his final resignation“, the Ministry said on the social network “Ex“.
Tensions in the government are growing after the appointment of a new presidential advisor - former senator Armando Benedetti, as well as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs Laura Sarabia. These decisions have met with public resistance from some ministers and cabinet members.
In addition, Finance Minister Diego Guevara and other cabinet members have also submitted or are about to submit “protocol“ resignations, their ministries announced.
This is not the first time that Petro has asked for mass resignations in order to make changes to the cabinet. However, he usually keeps some ministers in their posts, Reuters notes.
The president is currently on a visit to Dubai and has not yet announced new ministerial appointments.