Indonesian leader fires ministers of finance and security after deadly protests

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s president replaced key economic and security ministers in a Cabinet shakeup Monday after deadly protests over lawmakers' perks and the cost of living erupted across the country.

The Cabinet shake-up followed rising public dissatisfaction with President Prabowo Subianto’s administration and parliament’s perceived insensitivity over economic hardships.

Five ministers lost their jobs, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a technocrat who had served as the executive director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank, and Budi Gunawan, the coordinating minister for politics and security.

Subianto chose economist Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, chairman of the Deposit Insurance Corporation, to replace Indrawati, one of Indonesia’s longest-serving finance ministers.

Violent protests gripped the country, home to more than 280 million people, after reports that all 580 members of the House of Representatives received a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah ($3,075), in addition to their salaries. The allowance introduced last year was nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta.

The independent National Commission on Human Rights reported 10 people died during the five-day protests and cited an inhumane approach by security forces in handling the demonstrations. Police reported the death toll at seven.

The protests grew more violent following the death of 21-year-old ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan. He was reportedly completing a food delivery order when an armored police car sped through a crowd of demonstrators and caused him to fall.

Indrawati also become a target of recent protests over the cost of living and fresh perks for lawmakers. Her house was looted Aug. 31, alongside the homes of a number of lawmakers.

Analysts see the protests as a culmination of public anger over economic problems that the government has not addressed seriously, including widespread layoffs and declining purchasing power.

Calm largely returned after Subianto last week revoked lawmakers' perks and privileges, including the housing allowance, and suspended overseas trips.

Subianto also removed the ministers of cooperatives, the youth and sport and the minister for migrant workers protection.

Stocks in Southeast Asia's largest economy tumbled Monday after Subianto removed Indrawati from his Cabinet, closed down 1.28% at 7,766.85, shedding 100.5 points, while the rupiah slid after the news, with one-month non-deliverable forwards declining 1.1% to 16,583 per dollar, the weakest since May.

Indonesia remains attractive to investment, partly because Indrawati's strong credibility has been recognized both domestically and internationally for successfully maintaining a stable, prudent and sustainable fiscal policy, said Fadhil Hasan, a senior economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance.

However, in recent years, Indrawati had accommodated many presidents’ ambitious programs, which increased government debt and diminished the credibility of her own fiscal policy, Hasan added.

He said that Sadewa, Indrawati’s successor, was a capable economist but lacks a track record in managing fiscal and state finances. “So, I don’t think he’s the best choice,” he said.

Sadewa, 61, highlighted his own experience at a news conference late Monday, noting he had provided fiscal expertise to the last two administrations. He has held several senior government roles, including deputy for maritime sovereignty coordination at the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Affairs and Investment.

Responding to the market drop after the Cabinet reshuffle, Sadewa said he is “a market person” who will keep Indonesia fiscally healthy and will talk with Indrawati to provide fiscal advice to the government.

The new minister said his focus is to speed economic growth by mapping out fiscal measures and ensuring that government spending is efficient without overhauling systems.

In his campaign for president, Subianto promised to take economic growth to 8% within five years, while official data showing Indonesia’s economy expanded 4.87% in the first quarter of 2025 and 5.12% in the second quarter.

“If I said the economy can grow 8%, I’d be lying. But we are moving in that direction as fast as possible,” Sadewa said.

In this photo released by the Press and Media Bureau of the Indonesian Presidential Palace, an Islamic cleric holds a holy book of Quran over the head of the new Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as he takes his oath with other newly appointed ministers and vice ministers during a swearing in ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Cahyo Bruri Sasmito, Indonesian Presidential Palace via AP)

In this photo released by the Press and Media Bureau of the Indonesian Presidential Palace, an Islamic cleric holds a holy book of Quran over the head of newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as he takes his oath during his swearing in ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Muchlis Jr., Indonesian Presidential Palace via AP)

FILE - Indonesia's newly-appointed Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati smiles before the start of the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

Protesters march as some hold a banner with writing reading "Guard democracy, uphold civil supremacy" during a protest against food price hikes and soaring taxes in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Student protesters throw flowers during a rally against corruption, politicization of law, and lavish allowances given to parliament members, outside the parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)