LIMA – Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said on March 5 that he had tendered his resignation after an audio recording came out at the weekend purporting to be of him attempting to improperly influence government contracts.

Mr Otarola told the media that the recording was made in 2021, when he was not a government official, and was manipulated and edited as part of a conspiracy by his political opponents.

He had previously denied committing any crimes after the recording was made public.

With Mr Otarola’s departure, the other 18 Cabinet members must now also resign, according to Peruvian law. President Dina Boluarte has the choice to reinstate each Cabinet member or swop them out for new ministers.

The audio, published by the local media, appears to be of Mr Otarola speaking to a woman who later went on to work in various government roles.

Mr Otarola returned early from a trip to Canada, where he was representing Peru at a mining convention.

Earlier on March 5, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea said President Boluarte would make changes to her Cabinet as part of a “relaunch of the government’s general policy”.

Cabinet shake-ups have become common in Peru. Just in February, the President shuffled her Cabinet, swopping out four ministers, including those heading the economy and mining, as the Andean nation works to lift its shaky economy out of a recession. REUTERS