Colombia replaces finance minister amid corruption scandal

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday that deputy finance minister Diego Guevara will step into that ministry's top job, after previous minister Ricardo Bonilla resigned amid an ongoing corruption scandal, Report informs via Reuters.

Petro had said earlier on Wednesday he was expecting Bonilla's resignation, but that he does not think the former 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.

"It will be Dr. Guevara, the current vice minister, a university professor, who knows the whole effort we have been fighting," Petro told journalists after a meeting in Montevideo with outgoing Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, when asked about Bonilla's replacement.

Bonilla said in his resignation letter that he needed to "assume my defense as a citizen with my legal team, devoid of my public position, to concentrate on the process and avoid whatever damage from affecting the government's public agenda."