At the end of Saturday’s show, his weekend co-anchor, Felicidad Aveleyra, bid Vélez farewell in a 20-second message.
A spokesperson for Telemundo, who confirmed his departure, issued this statement: “An accomplished journalist, Luis Carlos has been a tremendous asset to Noticias Telemundo since he joined in 2015. We thank him for his dedication and numerous contributions, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Media Moves reached out to Vélez, but he would not comment on whether he would stay in Miami, return to Colombia or his future plans. However, rumors have already begun to swirl about his potential return to Caracol in Bogotá.
Telemundo has yet to announce who will replace Vélez as weekend anchor.
Vélez joined the network in 2015 as EVP of Network News during a company reorganization. He was moved from that role to the anchor desk in March of last year, displacing Edgardo Del Villar.
Before Telemundo, Vélez was anchor and News Director at Caracol Television in Colombia.
He was previously an anchor and reporter for CNN International based in New York and an anchor for CNN en Español.
Story was updated to include the Telemundo statement.