Several ministers and officials presented a letter of resignation to President Petro | News today

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Ministers and officials presented a letter of resignation to President Gustavo Petro.

Photo: Juan Diego Cano

On Wednesday night, in the middle of a tense council of ministers, several members of the cabinet and top-level government officials presented their formal resignation letter to President Gustavo Petro. According to sources from the House of Nariño, although the president has not made decisions, in the coming days he will define who continues or does not remain on his team.

So far it has been confirmed that one of the resignations is that of Jorge Iván González, director of the Department of National Planning (DNP), who would have had some differences with the president.

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According to voices from the Presidency, after a new “pull on the wrist” from the president, some of his ministers told him that they felt they were doing their job well, but that they made their positions available to the president. According to rumors, not yet confirmed by the Casa de Nariño, at that time some would have proposed presenting protocol resignations so that the president could decide on their futures.

This newspaper learned that two of the ministers who would have made their position available to the president were Néstor Osuna (Justice) and Germán Umaña (Commerce).

Rumors have been circulating for several weeks about possible changes in the cabinet, but, according to voices close to the president, the idea was stopped due to the emergence of the El Niño phenomenon, the forest fire crisis and the sanction of the Attorney’s Office against the chancellor, Álvaro Leyva, in the midst of the controversy over the passport tender.

.@infopresidencia clarifies to public opinion that in the 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬 held yesterday at the @Casa_Narinothe president of the Republic, @petrogustavodid not request the resignation of his cabinet.

Therefore any version is denied by…

— Colombian Presidency 🇨🇴 (@infopresidencia) February 1, 2024

Among the names that, according to rumors, would be involved in a possible shake-up, are those of Leyva himself and those of the Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco; Defense, Iván Velásquez; and Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica. However, according to cabinet sources, the president has not mentioned these changes to them and has invited them to improve the execution of their portfolios.

According to the Presidency, Petro did not ask for the resignation of any of his ministers, but did not deny that they themselves raised the possibility of presenting their letters. The idea, according to versions that are not confirmed, was followed by Laura Sarabia, director of Social Prosperity, who would have suggested everyone do the same.

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