Nearly one-third of cabinet members resigned abruptly on Monday
© Getty Images / Anna Moneymaker
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte replaced six ministers on Monday after they resigned abruptly as she faces a corruption probe related to her ownership of luxury watches, media reported on Tuesday.
The resignations follow a probe launched into allegations of illicit enrichment by the Peruvian leader, who is being investigated over her high-end Rolex watches, as authorities suspect corruption.
Boluarte is being preliminarily investigated for possessing an undisclosed collection of luxury watches since she came to power in July 2021 as vice president and social inclusion minister, and then as president in December 2022.
Police and prosecutors gained entry to the president’s residence in Lima on Friday night with a sledgehammer in a raid authorized by the judiciary at the request of the attorney general’s office. Investigators were reportedly searching for evidence regarding the origin of at least three Rolex watches. Boluarte has denied the accusations and insists that she purchased the watches with her own money.
The cabinet reshuffle came as lawmakers from various parties, including Peru Libre to which Boluarte once belonged, submitted to parliament a request to remove the president from office for “permanent moral incapacity.”
Interior Minister Victor Torres was among the six ministers who announced their resignation.
“I’m leaving in peace with my hands clean,” Torres told reporters, adding: “I am leaving because I asked the lady and she accepted.” While he claimed to have stepped down due to “family and health issues,” some media speculated that the resignation was meant as punishment for the weekend raids.
The five other cabinet ministers who resigned had held the ministries for women’s issues, education, rural development, production, and foreign trade. They reportedly voiced support for Boluarte, with one describing the raid on her home as “unnecessary” and “excessive.”
On Monday evening, the Peruvian leader named six new ministers, replacing roughly a third of her 19-person cabinet in a single day.
The slew of resignations has increased the volatility of Peru’s political landscape, which has seen six different presidents in merely eight years.