The president announces the arrest of his son, accused of money laundering

2023-07-29 16:48:12

“I wish my son luck and strength.” On Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Twitter the arrest of his eldest son Nicolas Petro, accused of “money laundering” and “illegal enrichment”, in a case related to the presidential campaign.

Colombia’s first leftist president wrote in a tweet that police arrested his son and his ex-wife, Days Vasquez. In March, Days Vasquez accused his former partner of receiving large sums of money from drug traffickers and smugglers in 2022 for Gustavo Petro’s winning presidential campaign but that he used them to make a living. luxurious in the town of Barranquilla.

“May these events shape his character and allow him to reflect on his own mistakes,” said the president. “As a person and a father, so much self-destruction hurts me a lot.”

Gustavo Pedro denies having received money from drug traffickers

The prosecution indicated for its part that Nicolas Petro had been arrested “for the offenses of laundering of assets and illegal enrichment” and his ex-wife for “laundering of assets and violation of personal data”.

The Colombian president denies having received money from drug trafficking groups and has himself called for an investigation to be opened against his son.

My son Nicolás and his ex-wife Days have been captured by the prosecution

As a person and a father, so much self-destruction hurts me a lot and the fact that one of my sons goes to jail; As President of the Republic, he assured that the prosecution has all the guarantees from me to…

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 29, 2023

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Nicolás Petro was a member of the “Historical Pact”, the left-wing alliance that brought his father to power. The media had published statements of Nicolas Petro’s accounts, showing incomes well above those of a parliamentarian’s salary.

Days Vásquez claimed in an interview that her ex-husband had received the equivalent of approximately $124,000 from a former drug trafficker, Samuel Santander Lopesierra. Known by the pseudonym “The Marlboro Man”, Samuel Santander Lopesierra served eighteen years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.