Nicolas Petro, the son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has been arrested on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment by the country’s attorney general. Nicolas, a politician in Atlantico province, is accused of receiving payments from drug traffickers to fund his father’s peace efforts and election campaign. He has denied the allegations and welcomed the investigation when it was initiated.
Following the arrest, President Petro, the country’s first left-wing leader, took to social media to express his feelings about his son’s imprisonment. He stated that while it is painful to see one of his children in prison, he will not interfere with the investigation and wishes his son luck and strength to reflect on his actions.
The attorney general’s office stated that the allegations against Nicolas involve illegal contributions diverted from his father’s election campaign last year. Both Nicolas and his ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vásquez, have been transferred from the Caribbean coast to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. Ms. Vásquez previously claimed in local media that her former husband received substantial amounts of money from drug cartels during the political campaign that led to Gustavo Petro’s presidential victory.
President Petro’s administration has been focused on securing peace deals with Colombia’s armed rebel groups and drug cartels. While a negotiated ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group is set to begin in August, talks with the major crime gang, Clan del Golfo, have failed due to ongoing violence. The country has been grappling with internal conflict for over 60 years, leading to the deaths of approximately 450,000 people.
