Peru’s Defense Minister announces “irrevocable” resignation after promotion controversy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Peruvian Minister of Defense, Walter Ayala, announced this Sunday (14) that he is resigning “irrevocably” from his post after being singled out in the last week for his alleged links with irregular promotions within the Armed Forces. This controversy has already brought him into the spotlight of Congress.

Although he considers that he has demonstrated “reliably” that he acted in a “legal and correct” way, Ayala has assured on Twitter that he assumes “total political responsibility”. “As a democrat, I irrevocably resign” from the Ministry of Defense, he added, in a message in which he thanked the president, Pedro Castillo, for his confidence and denounced the “politicking” of the opposition.

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“I have a clear conscience, and if I resign, it is not because I am afraid. I resign because I see that, unfortunately, (from Congress) they are going after the president. They have talked about constitutional infringement, they have talked about vacancies,” Ayala explained in an interview on América TV.

The Minister had already placed his post at Castillo’s disposal after several officers denounced pressures to force specific promotions in the Armed Forces. The Attorney General’s Office has opened a preliminary investigation against Ayala and also against the secretary-general of the Presidential Office, Bruno Pacheco, who has been implicated in the same scandal.

Regarding these promotions, Ayala has defended that they were “clean and transparent” and that “for the first time in history, they have been respected”. “The Armed Forces propose the promotions, and those proposals have been accepted. There have been no changes. Normally, in other governments, they observe and return the promotions,” he has emphasized.

“Many generals who are in Congress are surprised and tear their clothes. They say that it is an earthquake, but the truth is that there is a double standard here,” Ayala asserted.

Finally, the Minister of Defense has recognized that his resignation is due to the process of interrogation, to which the Peruvian Congress wants to submit him this Tuesday, after which he fears that he will be convicted. “I have a clear conscience,” he said.

Castillo’s mandate, which has completed one hundred days this week, has started with a succession of political controversies that have led to several changes in the government in a short period. Among the top officials who have resigned is the Minister of the Interior, Luis Barranzuela, for violating health restrictions by organizing a Halloween party.

The president, however, remains faithful to his main messages and, this very Sunday, has promised to launch a “crusade” against corruption and crime. Castillo, who has traveled to Ayacucho, has assured that he will prosecute both corrupt officials and companies that take advantage of these irregularities, according to the Peruvian newspaper ‘El Comercio’.

With information from Europa Press