{
  "id": 7653256,
  "title": "Colombian president fires national statistics chief",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/colombian-president-fires-national-statistics-chief",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T22:45:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/09/1533711/colombian-president-fires-national-statistics-chief"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bogota - Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella recently dismissed his national statistics chief, Ricardo Valencia, after the official stated that he did not find any inconsistencies in unemployment figures from the previous administration, according to the former director. De la Espriella, who assumed office in August, accused his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, of corruption.\n\nThe president announced Valencia's dismissal in a statement on Monday, just three weeks after appointing him to his position. Valencia expressed surprise at the decision, stating that he had not received any communication from the presidency or the president indicating any dissatisfaction.\n\nDuring a press conference, Valencia was asked about his findings regarding labor market indicators during July, when Petro was still president. He responded by asserting that he had not discovered any irregularities in the data. Despite his claim, the presidency criticized Valencia for claiming there were no irregularities without conducting thorough audits.\n\nFollowing Valencia's dismissal, the workers' union at the DANE (National Statistics Agency) expressed concerns about the agency's independence.",
  "summary": "BOGOTA: Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella fired his statistics chief after the official ruled out inconsistencies in unemployment figures under the previous government, the former director said Tuesday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}