By BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday said he expects his Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla to resign amid an ongoing corruption scandal, though the president said he does not think the minister has committed any wrongdoing.
The growing scandal, which is being investigated by the attorney general’s office and other entities, revolves around the alleged misdirection of resources from the national disaster management agency (UNGRD) and has been tied to various officials, including a former interior minister.
Bonilla has previously said he has not committed any crime and respects the work of the attorney general’s office.
“I expect his resignation, not because I believe him guilty, but because they want to tear him apart for being loyal to the government’s program and they want to unconstitutionally take down the government,” Petro said in a long missive posted on X.
Petro has repeatedly accused his political enemies of seeking to illegally remove him from office.
The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Should Bonilla resign, he will be the second finance minister to leave Petro’s government, which took power in August 2022.
In April 2023, Petro called for the resignation of then-Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo – who was replaced by Bonilla – as well as other ministers after a proposed health reform was held up in the Colombian Congress’ lower house.
