Head of Peruvian Army resigns due to differences with President-elect Pedro Castillo

Lima, July 25 (RHC)-- The head of the Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces, General Cesar Astudillo, resigned on Saturday and requested his retirement, according to Peruvian military sources.

In the letter where he announced his resignation, Astudillo said that he made the decision for "personal reasons" -- however Peruvian media claim that it was driven by disagreements with the incoming President-elect Pedro Castillo.

The resignation of the Army Major General will take effect next Wednesday, July 28, the same day Pedro Castillo will assume the presidency.  

General César Astudillo, had been occupying the General Command of the Army by designation of former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in 2017.  At the end of his term of office in 2018, former President Martin Vizcarra appointed him head of the CC. FF. AA.

General Astudillo has been investigated since February of this year by the Public Prosecutor's Office as an alleged member of a network of military personnel who sold gasoline to private businesses for the use of the Army, which he categorically denied.

During the investigations, the prosecutor in the case, Hugo Minaya, led the searches of the general's house and office at the Joint Command and denounced that the military officer had intelligence reports in his office as a result of Minaya's follow-up.