In a significant development, Nicolas Petro, the son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has come forward to acknowledge that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of suspicious origin. This revelation comes amidst an ongoing investigation led by Prosecutor Mario Andres Burgos, who is probing Nicolas Petro for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering.
Nicolas Petro, formerly a legislator representing a northern coastal region, decided to cooperate with authorities after being charged earlier this week. During the investigation, he disclosed that the unjustified increases detected in his assets were linked to two individuals currently under questioning by Colombian authorities. A portion of this money found its way into Nicolas’s personal accounts, while the rest was channeled into his father’s campaign, which ultimately led to Gustavo Petro becoming Colombia’s first elected leftist president.
Prosecutors had initially accused the younger Petro of accepting large sums of money from drug traffickers, which he allegedly used to acquire luxurious homes and expensive cars. However, Nicolas Petro, aged 36, pleaded not guilty to these charges but agreed to assist authorities with their inquiries.
This controversy emerges at a time when President Gustavo Petro is facing a decline in popularity and increasing opposition attacks, resulting in a lack of cooperation from opposing parties for his legislative agenda.
The investigation traces its origins to a stunning revelation made by Nicolas Petro’s former wife, Daysuris Vasquez, to a local news magazine in March. According to Vasquez, she was present at meetings where Nicolas arranged for a 600 million peso (approximately US$150,000) donation from a politician previously convicted of drug trafficking in Washington. The politician sought to contribute to Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign, but Vasquez accused her ex-husband of pocketing the money without the campaign’s knowledge.
Prosecutors revealed that the “resources” involved in the case amounted to around US$270,000, which was delivered by Samuel Santander Lopesierra and Gabriel Hilsaca to Nicolas Petro. Lopesierra had been convicted and extradited to the United States for drug trafficking, while Hilsaca’s father, Alfonso Hilsaca, currently faces prosecution on murder and criminal conspiracy charges in Colombia.
Burgos stated that Nicolas Petro has promised to provide audio recordings and documentary evidence substantiating that a portion of the money he received was used to finance his father’s electoral campaign, but it was not duly reported to the authorities.
Prosecutors have also implicated Vasquez in the money laundering scheme, alleging that she assisted her husband in concealing thousands of dollars in cash inside suitcases at their home. The couple, who no longer reside together, was arrested last Saturday and are currently held at the Chief Prosecutor’s Office headquarters in Bogota.
During a recent hearing, arguments were presented to determine whether Nicolas Petro’s detention should be changed to house arrest. President Gustavo Petro has stated that he will not interfere with the investigation and expressed his hope that his son will “reflect on his mistakes” in a message posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.