2023-07-30 06:00:00
The file for 1,000 million pesos received from a former drug trafficker and a man related to paramilitaries ended up leading Nicolás Petro Burgos to become the first son of an active president to be captured.
After almost five months of investigation and a solid case from the Prosecutor’s Office, CTI agents arrived by surprise at the two luxurious homes located in the north of Barranquilla where Nicolás and his ex-wife, Day Vásquez, the woman who revealed all the scandal and that accused the son of the head of state of receiving millionaire sums of money for the presidential campaign of Gustavo Petro.
While the entire country learned of the strongest blow that has shaken the Government, Petro Burgos and Vásquez listened to the reading of the arrest warrant in which they were accused of crimes that can carry up to 30 years in prison.
The charges are serious and some of them go against what the head of state has always criticized from Congress and his positions of power: his son was captured for illicit enrichment and money laundering and Day Vásquez for money laundering and violation of personal information.
In the morning, and after all the media in the country reported the news, Petro reacted in a similar way as he has done with other investigations surrounding his family or his closest bishops: he lamented what occurred and assured that it will ensure that the Prosecutor’s Office can carry out its work with complete independence and without obstacles from the Casa de Nariño.
“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 Prosecutor’s Office has all the guarantees from me to proceed in accordance with the law, ”said the president in a message that was well received even by the opposition.
According to what critics and allies of the Historical Pact said, this trill is appreciated by the head of state who reacts with a respectful tone of justice and the Constitution.
In context: “It hurts so much self-destruction; I will not intervene ”: Petro on the capture of his son Nicholas
However, the part that came later made it clear that not even he, as a father, trusts Nicolás’s innocence: “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, ”he concluded.
From there, the president has kept a careful silence in which his people have known how to surround him. Gustavo Bolívar, a recent candidate for mayor of Bogotá, mentioned his support for the presidential family and dared to question the attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, calling him a “political show” with the capture. Even so, he assured that everyone will respect the autonomy of the prosecuting entity so that it can investigate as far as it has to investigate. But, how much will the Prosecutor’s Office have to clarify?
The file of $1,000 million
The evidence that incriminates Petro Burgos and his ex-wife is related to million-dollar sums of cash that the president’s son would have requested for the campaign.
Despite the fact that the money did arrive and it was for the purpose of getting closer to Gustavo Petro, Nicolás would never have given it to his father or mentioned his plans. Two key points that, for now, clear the president of any point in this line of investigation.
This was stated by Day Vásquez before the Attorney General’s Office and to Semana Magazine, where he delivered the explosive statements that gave rise to this whole scandal.
It may interest you: “They taught me not to rejoice in the evil of others”: Uribe after the capture of Nicolás Petro
That said, the 1,000 million pesos would have arrived in several batches, from the hands of two questionable characters.
According to the account that Vásquez supported with chats, photos and audios, the first 600 million pesos were sent by former drug trafficker Samuel Santander Lopesierra, better known as the Marlboro Man, who was extradited to the United States and returned to the country only in 2021 after pay 19 years in jail.
Indeed, this movement made much more sense two months later, when Lopesierra began to engage in politics and officially launched himself as a candidate for mayor of Maicao, in La Guajira. Did that money exist in exchange for endorsements or political aid for the ex-narco to regain strength in the police? This is a question that the accusing body must answer.
Added to that, the remaining $400 million would have come from the hands of Alfonso del Cristo Hilsaca Eljadue, better known as the Hilsaca Turk, a businessman widely accused of financing the Héroes bloc of paramilitaries from Los Montes de María and whose name has been splashed in statements of former paramilitary chiefs of the stature of Jorge 40 and Salvatore Mancuso.
With all this, the lawyer Franciso Bernate, president of the Colombian Criminal Lawyers Association, analyzed that money laundering is a very serious crime within the country and that it could assure them of at least three decades of deprivation of liberty.
Likewise, Bernate agreed with Benedetti that an arrest warrant was not necessary at this point “because this is an exceptional situation that only occurs when there is a risk of flight, alteration of the evidence or danger to the victim”, three scenarios that do not seem to be fulfilled in the cases of Petro Burgos and Vásquez.
Even so, it will be the guarantee control judge who must decide if both captures are legal and remain firm, or if they should be revoked. For now, there are three key hearings for both: the legalization of capture, the imputation of charges and the measure of insurance.
While that progresses, it is clear that President Petro will feel the blows of this and the other scandals that are upon him. With plummeting popularity and a son who could go to jail for money laundering, the head of state is facing hard times getting his reforms through Congress.
Will he remain clean in all these processes and in the alleged irregular financing of his campaign? That remains to be seen.
#story #captured #Nicolás #Petro #son #president