Son of Colombia's president freed while he is investigated for illicit enrichment, money laundering

A judge in Colombia has ordered President Gustavo Petro’s son freed from detention while he is investigated on allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A Colombian judge on Friday night ordered President Gustavo Petro’s son freed from detention while he is investigated on allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering.

Nicolás Petro was arrested early Saturday, and this week was charged with the two crimes. He agreed to cooperate in the probe, and prosecutors said he acknowledged Thursday that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin.

Mario Andrés Burgos, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said Nicolás Petro assured that he would deliver audios and documents to corroborate that part of the money given to him ended up financing his father’s candidacy.

The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence that it said shows the younger Petro received money illicitly.

But the judge said prosecutors did not substantiate the need to keep the president's son in detention or under house arrest. He was ordered released under the condition that he not leave Colombia or participate in political activities.

Nicolás Petro is a legislator for the northern coastal region of Atlántico, but has said he will resign the seat.

Burgos has said the younger Petro revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into the son's own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombia's first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said.

On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolás Petro, 36, pleaded innocent to the charges, but agreed to cooperate with authorities.

The case has come at a time when Colombia’s president is losing popularity and has been exposed to attacks by opposition parties, which have become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with his legislative agenda.

The president has said he would not interfere with the investigation, and wrote a message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he said he hoped his son would “reflect on his mistakes.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New dig likely buries hopes of unearthing Dutch WWII loot

An officially sanctioned hunt for a stash of precious jewelry looted by the Nazis during World War II and purportedly buried in a sleepy Dutch village has — like many previous searches — failed to unearth any treasure OMMEREN, Netherlands -- An officially sanctioned hunt for a stash of precious jewelry looted by the Nazis during World War II and purportedly buried in a sleepy Dutch village has — like many previous searches — failed to unearth any treasure. Archeologists and historians called into the village of Ommeren, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, pushed a detection device called a magnetometer along a row of fruit trees and across a field Monday morning and used a mechanical digger to excavate holes in the soggy soil. They were rewarded with little more than a World War II-era bullet, some twisted scrap metal, a crumpled car wheel and muddy boots. Municipal officials hope that the failure of the team — that included members of a local historical society and
Read more

France: March, Eiffel Tower display to back Iran's activists

Thousands of Iranians in Europe have marched to the EU Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters as Paris prepared an Eiffel Tower tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death prompted the demonstrations PARIS -- Some 5,000 people marched Monday to the EU parliament in the French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran's anti-government protesters as Paris prepared an Eiffel Tower tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in September prompted the demonstrations. The Strasbourg march was organized by Iranians in Europe on the 44th anniversary of the day when Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ailing and under growing pressure, left the country for ever. The following month, the monarchy collapsed under the fervor of the Islamic revolution that gave Iran its theocracy. Some of the demonstrators Monday carried photos of the former king. Last week, over 100 MEPs signed a letter calling for the European Union to take a firmer stance against Iran.
Read more

World’s oldest known person, a French nun, dies at 118

A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person has died shortly before her 119th birthday PARIS -- A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person but had been reportedly growing weary of the burdens of age has died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, her nursing home in southern France said Wednesday. Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on Feb. 11, 1904, and lived through the two world wars. As a little girl she was astonished by her first contact with electric lighting at school and, more recently, survived COVID-19 without even realizing she'd been infected. Spokesman David Tavella said she died at 2 a.m. on Tuesday at the Sainte-Catherine-Laboure nursing home in the southern port city of Toulon. The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed her as the oldest known person in the world after the death of Japan’s Kane Tanaka, aged 119, last year
Read more