Dailyreport
The finance minister of Colombia steps down
Following claims that he ignored the bribery of lawmakers, Colombian Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla resigned on Wednesday at President Gustavo Petro’s request.The finance minister of Colombia steps down
Last Monday, a former advisor accused Bonilla of knowing that MPs were receiving bribes in exchange for supporting important reforms that Petro had promised.
According to the attorney general’s office, $200,000 in public monies were used to pay the bribes.
Bonilla has insisted that he is innocent.
However, during a press conference, Petro announced that Diego Guevara, his deputy, would take Bonilla’s place.
Petro told reporters that he had requested Bonilla’s resignation “because they want to destroy him for his loyalty to the president, not because I think he is guilty.”
Numerous high-ranking government officials and members of parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties have been embroiled in a broad corruption scandal.
A close confidant of President Petro, the nation’s intelligence chief resigned in July after prosecutors charged him with supervising the bribery of lawmakers to expedite the adoption of legislation.
When Petro took office in 2022, he had a bold plan for social reform.
