Colombia's Petro taps general for defense minister

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia's President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday named General Pedro Sanchez as the Andean country's new defense minister, replacing Ivan Velasquez amid a cabinet reshuffle that saw a number of ministers resign.

Petro asked all his ministers to present their resignations earlier this month, after a tense televised cabinet meeting led some officials to step down.

Sanchez will be the first military official in the role in more than three decades. Since 1991, civilians - mostly career politicians - have held the post.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin;)

You May Also Be Interested In

• Drone attack ignites blaze at energy plant in Russia's Volgograd, governor says
• Japan's FX reserve account logs $31 billion surplus in FY2025
• Asia stocks surge, yen steals spotlight after suspected intervention