BOGOTA, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The head of Colombia's armed forces, Gen. Jorge Enrique Rangel Mora, announced his resignation Wednesday, Colombian media reports said.
In a news conference at the Defense Ministry, Mora tearfully said he was stepping down after 42 years of service with "firmness and character" in which he was "faithful to ... (his) mother country."
He did not say why he was stepping down but his resignation is the latest in a series that have rocked the government of President Alvaro Uribe's government. Fernando Londono, the minister of Interior and Justice; Defense Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez, the senior-most woman Cabinet minister; Cecilia Rodriguez, minister of Atmosphere, Housing and Territorial Development; national police chief Gen. Teodoro Field, and other top officials.
Most of those resignations were for political reasons.
After winning by a landslide in last year's elections, Uribe has faced an uphill battle for public opinion. He recently lost a referendum that would have added funds to fight against left-wing paramilitary groups and corruption.
