The Colombian Electoral Judge launched an investigation on Tuesday 6th alleged illegal donations to President Gustavo Petro’s election campaign, after audio recordings published by A Semana magazine and attributed to former Colombian ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti allege the campaign received money from drug trafficking. At the same time, the political crisis sparked by the scandal paralyzed the government this week as implementation of reforms in Petro’s interests, including jobs, health care and social security, were suspended.
The audio recordings show an alleged conversation between Colombia’s then ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, and Petro’s chief of staff, Laura Sarabia. Benedetti says he raised US$4 million (about R$20 million) for the campaign and suspects some of the money came from groups linked to drug trafficking.
“Laura […] We all sink. We’re all done. Let’s get arrested […] I know with this much shit we’ll all f… If you fuck me, I’ll fuck you,” the audios say.
The picture shows Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a ministerial meeting in Bogotá, pictured Monday, 5. Faced with the allegations against the government, Petro says the government will not accept blackmail. Photo: Presidency of Colombia/via EFE
Benedetti resigned last week but said on Monday the messages were taken out of context and that he was “angry and drunk when he sent them”. He refused to confirm whether the money actually came from drug dealers, but told the Colombian press that “it didn’t come from businessmen”.
Petro denies any involvement in the case and said his campaign has rejected any donation that does not meet legal criteria. Sarabia and Benedetti are scheduled to testify on the case before the National Electoral Commission next month.
In the Chamber of Representatives (equivalent to the Chamber of Deputies) this Monday 5th, President David Racero said that discussions on the reforms were frozen pending political conditions for dialogue and the “rebuilding of the governing coalition”. “Such important discussions as these, which mean a profound change for the country, cannot be mediated by external factors that lead to a negative outcome for Colombia,” Racero told the Colombian press.
The opposition has called for reforms to be put on hold given the government’s immobilization. “In the face of the very serious admissions about campaign finance by President Gustavo Petro, Congress must shelve the proposed reforms, at least on the grounds of illegality. They want to gamble with Colombians’ health and wallets,” opponent David Luna wrote on Twitter. Petro claims the pressure on the government is blackmail.
The picture shows Petro (right) and Armando Benedetti (left), the then Ambassador of Colombia to Venezuela. Benedetti is embroiled in a scandal and was dismissed from government on Friday. Photo: Juan Barreto/AFP
Congressmen are also complaining about the administration’s delay in submitting the reforms to Congress. Petro passed the tax reform, the Comprehensive Peace Law and the National Development Plan without difficulty in his first year in office, but the three ongoing reforms are still at the preliminary discussion stage. Given the Benedetti and Sarabia scandals, there will be little time or political climate to approve them before the end of the legislative year, as Petro wanted.
Understand the scandal against the Petro government
The scandal began in late May after a briefcase containing thousands of dollars was stolen from Sarabia’s home. A maid to the former chief of staff was polygraphed and phone tapped at Presidency headquarters, based on a false police report linking her to drug dealers.
Sarabia and Benedetti shared the same maid and exchanged accusations of a conspiracy, in a complicated story that still raises many questions. The State Department is investigating the case.
Petro, in power since August 2020, started his government with the support of the left and some traditional parties in Congress, but the coalition has increasingly disintegrated and distanced itself from its reforms: reducing private participation in the health care system, redistributing unproductive lands, Reform of labor and social security systems. His initiative to disarm illegal organizations in exchange for legal benefits was also frozen.
The new political crisis is hitting Petro’s declining popularity particularly hard. Approval for his management fell from 50% in November to 34% in May, according to the latest Invamer Institute poll. The opposition even claimed that this percentage could be close to 20% in the next polls. /With information from AFP