Saturday 11 October 2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Ortega Says
Capitalism In Its Death Throes
Millions Of
Undeclared Money
Confiscated at Panama
Airport
Colombian Police Arrest
37 Members Of Criminal
Gang
Peruvian President
Accepts Resignation Of
Cabinet
Opposition Candidates
Lead In Surveys For
Mayoral Elections In
Rio, Sao Paulo
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Peruvian President
Accepts Resignation Of
Cabinet
LIMA - Peruvian Prime
Minister Jorge del
Castillo announced
Friday that President
Alan Garcia had accepted
the resignation of his
cabinet members due to
their alleged
corruption.
During an event at the
government palace, del
Castillo said Garcia
accepted the resignation
of his ministers, which
was presented Thursday
after a week of crisis
due to alleged
corruption on the grant
of oil fields.
"The president has
accepted our
resignations and will
proceed to reshuffle the
cabinet," Del Castillo
told reporters.
"We leave with the head
up, proud of our names
and last names," he
said.
Four audio tapes emerged
on Sunday linking
members of the ruling
party to a plan to steer
lucrative petroleum
contracts to a Norwegian
oil company in exchange
for bribes.
Following the scandal,
the government removed
from post vice president
Alberto Quimper of the
state-owned petroleum
company Petroperu and
accepted the
resignations of Energy
Minister Juan Valdvia
and of the company's
president Cesar
Gutierrez.
All the contracts with
the Norwegian oil
company have been
suspended.
Peru's congress has
voted to investigate all
oil and gas concessions
granted since 2006, and
will scrutinize dozens
of contracts signed
between Peru and foreign
oil companies for signs
of irregularities in the
country's growing
petroleum sector.
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