The commander of the Armed Forces, Jorge Peña, asked the press to be “responsible” with reporting that involved the military. At a press conference, flanked by the head Chief of the State Wagner Bravo and Inspector General Hégel Peñaherrera, the commander questioned the diffusion of non-official information about military matters. He said it’s a threat to national security.

He also asked that the military not be drawn into civil matters, because their duty is to the state and they cannot get involved in politics.

The conference was to announce the promotion of Nicolás Gortaire, José Luis Castillo and Oswaldo Moreno to the rank of generals (a controversial set of appointments that led to the resignation of Commander Marco Vera in February).

Peña expressed opinions about the reforms to the Law of Armed Forces Personnel proposed by the President, where the Chief of State would not intervene in most military promotion decisions and would only approve high rank appointments via Executive Order. Peña wishes the President would continue to sign off on all rank promotions, but understands the administrative burden it is.