Gustavo Petro received a letter from Pedro Castillo in his own handwriting this Thursday. The former Peruvian president thanks him for his support and tells him that he has appointed an Argentine lawyer, Guido Leonardo Croxatto, to take his case and internationalize it among the “brother” countries. One of these nations is Colombia. Petro has defended Castillo from day one after announcing a utterly failed coup on TV.
The President of Colombia continues to consider Castillo a legitimate President, so he doesn’t know who he really is, Dina Boluarte. Croxatto was received by Petro at the Casa de Nariño, the President’s residence. During a conversation in his cell, Castillo asked him to take the letter to the Colombian President as soon as possible. The meeting lasted an hour and a half, a significant amount of time on a president’s agenda. Petro wanted to know everything about the political and legal process involving Castillo, who is accused of rebellion, a crime that has resulted in two decades in prison.
Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, meeting with lawyer Guido Leonardo Croxatto Courtesy (Colombian Presidency)
Castillo’s defense will seek an interim measure before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the same body that ruled in Petro’s favor when he was sacked as mayor of Bogotá. The President was in great harmony with Croxatto, a student of Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, a respected Argentine judge who was one of the first to stand up for Petro in his lawsuit against the Colombian state. In addition, Croxatto will file an amparo in Peru’s Constitutional Court to find the unconstitutionality of the process used to remove Castillo from office. Croxatto claims that the message to the nation that Castillo read and for which he was removed was empty, posed no threat to the constitutional order, and had no military support.
Four months ago, in a moment that will go down in history, the then Peruvian President dissolved Congress and declared a state of emergency on television. He was arrested hours later and later jailed over an attempted coup that authorities are considering. The attempt has been condemned by most countries, but a few, including Colombia and Mexico, have defended Castillo and view his stay in prison as undemocratic.
This is the letter to Gustavo Petro:
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Dear Brother President of Colombia Gustavo Petro
From this cell I greet you, the brothers of the Colombian people, with all the strength and hope of my people.
Then let me tell you that the international strategy of my defense will be directed by the Argentine lawyer Guido Leonardo Croxatto, to whom I entrust this particular task and will carry out the appropriate coordination with the team and the brothers of the countries in this just cause.
A huge hug my brother President, thank you for your support and solidarity.
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