Juan Fernando Petro and Nicolás Petro, brother and son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro.rrss
Gustavo Petro has taken the opposite position to that of the philosopher Albert Camus, who said that between justice and his mother he prefers his mother. The President has chosen justice for now. The nation’s attorney general’s office is officially investigating Petro’s son and brother, starting this Friday, for using their last names to collect commissions from businessmen and prisoners who were promised presidential favors after the president himself announced Thursday’s opening had requested a criminal investigation to his relatives.
A group of prosecutors, investigators and experts led by Deputy Attorney General Martha Mancera traveled to Barranquilla to question Day Vásquez, the ex-wife of Nicolás Petro, the president’s eldest son. In an interview with Semana magazine, the woman accused Nicolás of receiving money from businessmen whom he fooled into thinking they had contributed to his father’s presidential campaign last year. He also affirms that he was related to people from the world of smuggling and drug trafficking and that he drove a truck that belonged to a government contractor. Prosecutors are investigating to protect Vásquez.
At the same time, the public prosecutor announced that Juan Fernando Petro, the President’s brother, has been under investigation since January 23. Investigators are tracking possible payments from drug dealers who would have been promised slots in complete silence, Petro’s project to negotiate and bring criminals to justice. It is believed that a mafia of lawyers went around the prisons, demanding money from the prisoners with promises that they would be put on the reduced sentence lists. Juan Fernando was already hinted at being behind that framework during the campaign, but he denied everything. High Commissioner for Peace Danilo Rueda has confirmed that under one of these promises, a prisoner paid 120 million to a lawyer to have him transferred to another prison. That means the case is there.
Petro now faces suspicions that two of his closest relatives may have been doing business under his name, following an initial government crisis sparked by the sacking of three ministers – including a much-loved one, Alejandro Gaviria. The President has been very clear, putting his name and position above any family ties: “My commitment to Colombia and the Colombians is to achieve peace, and anyone who wants to interfere or personally take advantage of this goal has no place in the government, even if they are members of my family.” He said he hoped they could prove his innocence but that he would respect the work of the prosecutors.
Without support from the President, Nicolás and Juan Fernando Petro are at the mercy of the authorities. If what they are accused of is true, they used the name of an institution that has now failed them. Nicolás has said that he is innocent, that he does not know any of the characters he is associated with and that he will take legal action against those who seek to tarnish his name.
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS newsletter on Colombia and receive all the latest information about the country.
Newsletter
Current affairs analysis and the best stories from Colombia, delivered to your inbox every week
GET THIS