BOGOTÁ.- The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, affirmed this Saturday that “will not intervene or pressure” the decisions of the Prosecutor’s Office after the capture of his son Nicolás, investigated for the possible crime of money laundering and illicit enrichment.
«As a person and a father, so much self-destruction hurts me a lot and the fact that one of my children goes to jail; As President of the Republic, I assure that the Prosecutor’s Office has all the guarantees on my part to proceed in accordance with the law.”expressed the president on his Twitter account.
Nicolás Petro, deputy of the Assembly of the department of Atlántico, was captured along with his ex-wife Daysuris Vásquez, who at the beginning of the year accused him of receiving a large sum of money from a drug trafficker for the current president’s campaign and of keeping that money. .
The Prosecutor’s Office reported that the arrests took place “Today, July 29, 2023, around 06:00 (11:00 GMT), in compliance with the provisions of the 16th Municipal Criminal Court with the Function of Guarantee Control of Bogotá.”
I wish my son luck and strength. May these events forge his character and he may reflect on his own mistakes. As I stated before the attorney general, I will not intervene or pressure his decisions; Let the law freely guide the process,” added the Colombian president after the news.
CAPTURE OF PETRO SON
Nicolás Fernando Petro Burgos was arrested for the crimes of money laundering and illicit enrichment and Daysuris del Carmen Vásquez Castro for money laundering and violation of personal data. Those captured will be placed at the disposal of a criminal judge and a restrictive measure of freedom will be requested.
On March 21, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that it was criminally investigating Nicolás Petro for his alleged meetings with drug traffickers in prison and for “possible money laundering” after his ex-wife assured in an interview with Semana magazine that the drug trafficker Samuel Santander Lopesierra, alias “the Marlboro man”, gave him “more than 600 million pesos (about 153,000 dollars today) for the father’s campaign.”
“That never legally reached the campaign because he kept that money, and so did others,” added the woman, who mentioned that Nicolás Petro also received 200 million pesos (about $51,000) from the controversial businessman Alfonso “Turco” Hilsaca, that neither went to give to the campaign.
