Luis Carlos Velez is leaving CNN after 6 years with the network.

Originally joining CNN Worldwide as Senior Business Producer for CNN en Español, Velez jumped to CNN International in February 2011 to co-host the (now defunct) Asia morning edition of World Business Today. He was most recently a correspondent based in New York.

Wradio.com.co reports that Velez is headed to Colombia to assume the role of news director of Caracol TV. The website also posted the text of Velez's apparent farewell email to CNN colleagues. It reads, in part:

"Today came the day of departure. After more than six years working together is the time to take a new step. I am extremely grateful for all the personal teaching and journalism.

Thank you for showing the world, special coverage, for transmissions last minute on the news in context and the laughter in the air, for encouraging my senses, sensibilizarme, but more importantly, for showing me to do journalism independent, balanced, elegant and world class."

On Friday, Velez anchored CNN en Español's Encuentro and made the announcement of his departure. A video for our Spanish-speaking readers is below.

UPDATE #2 - 1:30am September 9, 2011: Another email tipster says to expect Quest Means Business to re-air at 10:00pm (eastern) on ALL CNN International feeds. If true, then the network has well and truly lost the plot. A topical business news program, tracking (in part) the latest market movements on Wall Street, airing 8 hours after it first runs. You read that correct. An 8 hour old program running instead of a live program during Asia's late morning.

UPDATE #1 - 2:00am September 8, 2011: CNN Observations is still awaiting confirmation from CNN International on whether the network will go ahead and air the 10:00pm (eastern) replay of Anderson Cooper 360º from next week, but two emails from Atlanta suggest that the northern feeds may take the replay, while feeds in Asia Pacific will replay Quest Means Business in the 10:00pm (eastern) time slot. Again, CNN Observations is still awaiting official confirmation from CNN.

Whilst I was politely reminded in one of the emails I received that Quest Means Business is a CNN International production, the ratio of International Vs. Domestic-produced programs on CNN International wasn't really the point I was trying to highlight during the first part of the post below. The point I was trying to make is that CNN International is down an hour of LIVE news during the Asia morning dayside hours. In that context, whether it's the repeat of Anderson Cooper 360º or Quest Means Business that goes to air is pretty much redundant as both will be on tape.

----------

Anderson Cooper 360º has been simulcast on CNN International for a number of years at the same time it went to air live at 10:00pm (eastern) in the U.S. Once the program moved to 8:00pm (eastern) early in August, CNN International decided to stick with airing the taped replay at 10:00pm (eastern). As of this week, that’s all changed. Sort of.

Read more »

After serving as a anchor and Senior Producer for CNN en Español for more than five years, Luis Carlos Velez will be moving to New York to co-anchor the 8 PM ET version of World Business Today on CNN International with Colleen McEdwards from Atlanta and Pauline Chiou from Hong Kong. He starts on-air Tuesday, March 1.

World Business Today provides an overview of late-breaking financial, economic, and business news from around the world.

Luis Carlos Velez becomes the first Hispanic to be anchoring news at CNN International, and the first to jump from CNN en Español to CNN International.

Here are a couple of new bios from cnnenespanol.com's bios section. These are not listed at the regular CNN.com Anchors/Reporters section and the new photos/bios we reported back on July 28th are not at cnnenespanol.com either.

They've also removed quite a few bios from their section as well, such as Carmen Aristegui, Ana Maria Montero, Xanthe Tilden, and Luis Carlos Velez, just to name a few. I'm not sure if these anchors have been gone for a while and these needed to be updated, or if they quietly made some staff cuts at the network, or if they just removed them for no apparent reason like they did with the CNN Radio anchor/reporter bios recently.

Héctor Velázquez Mejía

Liliana González-Ramírez