Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Monday accepted the resignation of Colombian armed forces commander Freddy Padilla de Leon, as well as that of the director of the nation’s Financial Information and Analysis Unit (UIAF), Mario Aranguren.
Padilla notified Uribe of his intention to resign 20 days ago via a letter. In the missive he gave his reasons as being to spend more time with his family and return to a peaceful civilian life after five years as head of the army.
Padilla’s resignation will come into effect on August 7, Uribe’s last day in office.
Following the armed forces commander’s resignation, Conservative Party presidential candidate Noemi Sanin announced that she would ask Padilla to be her Defense Minister, if she were elected to the Colombian presidency.
Aranguren, who is under investigation for suspicion of involvement in the DAS wire-tappings scandal, also stated personal reasons for his resignation.
The government is considering who will fill Padilla’s and Aranguren’s roles.
Padilla’s resignation was made public by El Tiempo newspaper on Monday.