By Sabrina Martin
A brand new scandal surrounds Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who was compelled to ask the Prosecutor General’s Office to analyze his son and older brother as a consequence of rumors linking them to drug trafficking.
“Due to the information that is rumored in the public opinion about my brother Juan Fernando Petro Urrego and my eldest son Nicolás Petro Burgos, I ask the Prosecutor General of the Nation to advance all the necessary investigations and determine possible responsibilities,” stated the president.
The “rumors” Petro refers to arose after Day Vásquez, ex-wife of his son Nicolás Petro, accused him of receiving cash from drug traffickers with sums that might exceed 1,000 million pesos (US$210 thousand).
In an interview with Semana journal, Vásquez claimed that the cash by no means reached Petro’s marketing campaign as a result of her ex-husband “kept the money”.
For his half, the president’s son denied the accusations and publicly stated that he’s open to any investigation. He assured that his ex-partner seeks to destroy him as a result of “he did not take the separation well”.
“Months ago, I ended my relationship with Dayssuris del Carmen. I understand that the breakup was painful for her, that many wounds were opened.”
“I decided to separate, to rebuild my life, and she took it in the worst possible way and sought my destruction.”
“I asked the Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation on the matter, that it be addressed with celerity and prompt clarity on the matter and thus reaffirm my innocence”, he identified.
WHAT ARE PETRO’S SON AND BROTHER ACCUSED OF?
According to Day Vásquez, Nicolás Petro “received money from people who have had a dark past”.
This is about drug trafficker Samuel Santander López Sierra, who was extradited and sentenced to twenty years and who allegedly gave him 600 million pesos for the presidential marketing campaign.
Vásquez additionally referred to Alfonso ‘el Turco’ Hilsaca, who allegedly gave Petro’s son at the very least 400 million pesos.
Regarding Juan Petro, Petro’s brother, he has been linked a number of occasions with a cartel of legal professionals who’ve requested drug traffickers for cash in change for advantages.
Juan Petro already appeared earlier than the Prosecutor’s Office for these allegations in early February in a 40-minute reserved assertion.
On that day, his lawyer assured that his shopper is a “victim” of a community of legal professionals who use his identify to advance alleged negotiations with the federal government.
It must be remembered that in 2022, in the course of the presidential marketing campaign, Juan Fernando went to a jail in Bogotá to satisfy with a number of inmates.
According to the press, on this assembly, he supplied advantages for these convicted of corruption and drug trafficking within the eventual authorities of his brother.
On that event, Gustavo Petro denied that model and guaranteed his brother was not a part of the marketing campaign.