Uruguay's foreign minister resigns following leak of audios related to a passport scandal

Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo has resigned shortly after audio messages were published in which he appears to ask a former official to not hand over evidence in an ongoing investigation over a passport issued to an accused drug trafficker

Uruguay Minister Resigns (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo resigned late Wednesday, shortly after audio messages were published in which he appears to ask a former official to not hand over evidence in an ongoing investigation over a passport issued to an accused drug trafficker.

Bustillo said in a news release that he had submitted his resignation “to dispel any suspicion that, as an authority figure, I might exert undue influence over third parties, protected by the privileges of my position.”

He resigned from his post after audios were revealed in which he appears to call on former deputy Foreign Minister Carolina Ache to not hand over her phone to investigators.

According to the audios, Bustillo was trying to make sure investigators wouldn’t see conversations Ache had with another official relating to the granting of a passport to Sebastian Marset while he was detained in Dubai in 2021.

Ache resigned last year.

Bustillo claims Ache “decontextualized conversations and acted in bad faith” and insisted there was “nothing illegal” in the passport that was granted to Marset.