Medellín, Colombia – Colombia’s Defense Minister, Ivan Velasquez, on Tuesday became the latest member of President Gustavo Petro’s cabinet to resign.
A post on X from the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday confirmed that Velasquez had submitted his resignation.
As many as nine members of the president’s inner circle have submitted resignations since a February 4 broadcast in which Petro dressed down his ministers on live television.
Five days later, Petro called on all of his ministers to resign, sparking chaos within the government.
According to the president, his shake up aims to “achieve greater compliance with the program ordered by the people. The government will concentrate entirely on the fulfillment of the program,” he wrote on X.
Defense Minister Velasquez’s resignation comes at a challenging time for Colombia’s security forces as they face increased violence from armed groups in the northeastern Catatumbo region, as well as a freeze on U.S. military aid by the Trump administration.
Read more: How Trump’s Aid Freeze Is Threatening Colombia’s Security, Anti-Drug Operations
Members of Petro’s administration who have submitted irrevocable resignations include Minister of the Interior Juan Fernando Cristo; Labor Minister Gloria Inés Ramírez; Minister of Culture Juan David Correa; Jorge Rojas, Director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE); as well as Susana Muhamad, the Environmental Minister.
Muhamad’s resignation this week came as Petro attends an international clean energy summit in Dubai.
Some of the outgoing ministers have stated that they are leaving due to Petro’s recent, controversial, appointment of Armando Benedetti as his new Chief of Staff.
Benedetti was a Senator from 2006 to 2022 and Ambassador to Venezuela in 2022 and 2023. The longtime politician has a number of cases against him in courts, and an audio leaked by Semana magazine reportedly includes speech where Benedetti says he paid bribes to guarantee Petro’s election in 2022. He’s also been accused by his wife of gender violence, according to El Pais.
“Gustavo Petro doesn’t care at all that Benedetti has four investigations in the Supreme Court and very serious accusations of machista violence,” said Jennifer Pedraza, Member of the House of Representatives of Colombia, in conversation with El Tiempo.
Environment Minister Muhamad said during the televised cabinet meeting that she “couldn’t sit at the same table as Benedetti” and told El Tiempo that he “does not generate confidence” politically. Culture Minister Correa also suggested that Benedetti’s appointment was the reason for his resignation, according to Colombia Reports.
Petro is now lacking cabinet members, and support from other important ministers who remain in cabinet, some of whom disagree with his appointment of Benedetti.
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