The head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Peru, Army General César Astudillo, resigned Sunday, July 25, three days after the proclamation of victory in the presidential election of leftist Pedro Castillo, reported a military source.
"The resignation is confirmed, we will not give more details,"
a source from the Joint Command of the Armed Forces told AFP, who requested anonymity.
According to the newspaper
Peru 21
, General Astudillo asked to retire on Wednesday July 28, the inauguration day of President-elect Castillo.
Interim President Francisco Sagasti nevertheless ruled out linking this move to Castillo's victory.
Read also: Trade unionist Pedro Castillo elected president in Peru
General Astudillo, 60, had been in charge of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces since October 2018. During the electoral campaign for the second round of the presidential election, a group of retired soldiers organized marches in support of right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori, but active officers had not been involved, as required by the Constitution. Castillo, 51, was proclaimed president-elect on Monday, after six weeks of scrutiny of protests. He will take office on Wednesday, the day of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the independence of Peru, proclaimed on July 28, 1821, and will symbolically take the oath the next day in the pampa de la Quinua, site of the battle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824.The ceremony will be attended by leaders of neighboring countries as well as King Felipe VI of Spain.