Brazil on edge as three military chiefs resign after Bolsonaro fires defense minister

Political earthquake rattles country already grappling with one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks

Jair Bolsonaro's crisis-stricken administration has been rocked by the sudden sacking of Brazil's defence minister and the subsequent resignation of the heads of all three branches of the armed forces.

The commanders of the Brazilian army, navy and air force - Gen Edson Leal Pujol, Adm Ilques Barbosa and Lt-Brig Antonio Carlos Bermudez - met with the president's new minister on Tuesday morning and reportedly tendered their resignations during a dramatic and heated encounter. On Tuesday afternoon the defence ministry confirmed all three would be replaced, a political earthquake that rattled a country already grappling with one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks.