They arrest Nicolás Petro, Gustavo Petro’s eldest son, accused of money laundering and illicit enrichment

2023-07-29 15:19:36

Nicolás Petro, the eldest son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has been arrested by order of the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office for the alleged crimes of money laundering and illicit enrichment. The Prosecutor’s Office has also requested the capture of Nicolás Petro’s ex-partner, Day Vásquezfor money laundering and violation of personal data.

“The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation is allowed to inform that today, July 29, 2023, at around 6:00 a.m., in compliance with the provisions of the 16th Municipal Criminal Court with the Function of Guarantee Control of Bogotá, the arrest warrants issued against Nicolás Fernando Petro Burgos (…) and Daysuris del Carmen Vásquez Castro (…) for events that occurred from 2022 to date,” the entity said in a statement.

Petro and Vásquez will be placed at the disposal of a municipal criminal judge with a function of guarantee control, who will be asked to impart legality to the search, capture and seizure procedures of material elements of evidence.

Reaction of the Colombian president

In response to this arrest, the Colombian president has published a message on the social network X, formerly known as Twitterin which he acknowledges that “it hurts me a lot so much self-destruction and the fact that one of my children goes to jail.”

In any case, he assures that the Prosecutor’s Office will have “all the guarantees on my part to proceed in accordance with the law.” “As I stated before the attorney general, I will not intervene or pressure his decisions; let the law freely guide the process,” he stressed.

“I wish my son luck and strength. May these events forge his character and may he reflect on his own mistakes,” said the Colombian president.