Colombian prosecutors said they’ll interview President Gustavo Petro’s former daughter-in-law over her allegations that his son Nicolas took money from criminals.
(Bloomberg) — Colombian prosecutors said they’ll interview President Gustavo Petro’s former daughter-in-law over her allegations that his son Nicolas took money from criminals.
Authorities had already opened an investigation into the president’s brother, Juan Fernando Petro, over alleged payments from cocaine traffickers who wish to negotiate with the government, the Attorney General’s office said in a statement Friday.
On Thursday, Petro himself called for a probe of his son and brother to “determine possible responsibilities.” Petro added that he trusted the pair would be able to prove their innocence.
Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations add to the wave of troubles that have hit Petro in recent days after he faced a cabinet rebellion over his health care bill, a court blocked his bid to cut electricity tariffs, and a group of 80 police and oil workers were kidnapped by protesters in southern Colombia. A poll published Wednesday showed his approval rating has fallen to 40%, the lowest since he took office in August.
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The Attorney General’s office said in its statement that it has sent a team to Barranquilla, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, to speak with Day Vasquez, Nicolas Petro’s ex-wife.
Semana magazine published an interview with Vasquez this week in which she accused her former husband of having received more than 1 billion pesos ($209,000) during last year’s presidential campaign. This included money from a former drug trafficker, who had been jailed in the US, as well as a businessman under investigation for ties to organized crime, Semana cited her as saying.
Vasquez said Nicolas had kept the money for himself. Gustavo Petro hadn’t known about the payments, and the money wasn’t used to finance his campaign, she said, according to Semana.
Vasquez said Friday in a post on Twitter that she would hand over proof of her allegations to the authorities, and denied that she was motivated by vindictiveness against her former husband.
The Inspector General’s office, which investigates public officials, said Thursday that it had opened an investigation into Nicolas Petro, who currently sits on a regional parliament in Atlantico province on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
“Total Peace”
Prosecutors said their investigation into Juan Fernando Petro, the president’s brother, is related to alleged payments from drug traffickers who wish take part in the government’s “Total Peace” initiative.
The government is reaching out to criminal organizations in the hope that all of Colombia’s remaining illegal armed groups will lay down their arms in return for benefits. These include dissident guerrillas, who rejected the 2016 peace accord, as well as private armies in the service of cocaine traffickers.
Petro said Thursday that Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda is the only government representative authorized to contact criminal organizations as part of his peace policy.
Last year, Noticias Caracol TV said that Juan Fernando Petro visited a prison in Bogota where he met with jailed former politicians. He said the visits were connected with work he was doing with human rights NGOs.
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