2017.07.1918:48:00UTC+00COLOMBIA: Government Ministers Resign To Facilitate Cabinet Reform

All of the Colombian government cabinet members presented resignation letters to the country's president Juan Manuel Santos so that he could reorganize his work team ahead of his last year in office.

The collective resignation takes place just before the opening of a new legislative period, that will begin Thursday.

Santos' ministers emphasized that their resignation is "an act of loyalty and full confidence." In a letter, the ministers, high councilors and directors of administrative departments presented their resignation "with a deep appreciation for the opportunity" to have served Colombia.

The ruling party is facing hard times to gather majorities in Congress, and the cabinet rebuild is seen as a tool to achieve better results in a year in which the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) must be implemented and ahead of the 2018 presidential elections.