Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Saturday (July 29th) the arrest of his eldest son Nicolas Petro, accused of money laundering and illegal enrichment, in the context of a scandal related to the presidential campaign.

Colombia's first leftist president wrote on Twitter, renamed X, that police had arrested his son and his ex-wife, Days Vasquez.

Han sido capturados por la fiscalía mi hijo Nicolás y su ex esposa Days

Como persona y padre me duele mucho tanta autodestrucción y el que uno de mis hijos pase por la cárcel; como presidente de la República aseguró que la fiscalía tenga todas las garantías de mi parte para...

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 29, 2023

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 victorious presidential campaign, but that he had used them to lead a luxurious life in the northern city of Barranquilla.

"I wish my son good luck and strength," Petro told X. "May these events forge his character and allow him to reflect on his own mistakes," he added. "As a person and a father, so much self-destruction hurts me a lot."

The prosecutor's office said Nicolas Petro had been arrested "for the offenses of money laundering and illegal enrichment" and his ex-wife for "money laundering and violation of personal data".

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

Nicolas Petro was an MP for the "Historic Pact", the left-wing alliance that brought his father to power. Media had published statements of accounts of Nicolas Petro, showing incomes much higher than those of a parliamentarian.

Days Vasquez said in an interview that her ex-husband received the equivalent of about $124,000 from a former drug dealer, Samuel Santander Lopesierra. Known as "The Marlboro Man," Samuel Santander Lopesierra served 18 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.

With AFP

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