Colombia finance minister resigns amid corruption probe

Colombia’s finance minister, Ricardo Bonilla, has stepped down amid a widening corruption scandal that threatens to derail the leftist government’s reform agenda.

Bonilla had become embroiled in a probe by the attorney-general’s office into the alleged misuse of funds from the country’s disaster risk agency.

“I have always said that I respect the work of the attorney-general’s office and that I would not use my position in the cabinet to defend myself,” Bonilla, who denies wrongdoing, said in his resignation letter that was published by Colombian media. “I did not buy silence, nor votes from congressmen . . . nor did I commit any crime for personal gain.”

Bonilla will be replaced by his deputy, Diego Guevara, a former university professor, Petro said on Wednesday evening.

Earlier on Wednesday, Petro said of Bonilla in a post on X: “I expect his resignation, not because I think he is guilty, but because they want to tear him apart for being loyal to the government programme.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday that finance vice minister Diego Guevara will step into that ministry’s top job, after previous minister Ricardo Bonilla resigned amid an ongoing corruption scandal.

In July, the country’s intelligence chief, a close ally of President Petro, resigned after prosecutors accused him of overseeing the bribery of parliamentary leaders to speed up the passage of bills.