[RSS][Colombia] Son of Colombia’s president indicted on corruption charges

[RSS]

A prosecutor from Colombia’s Caribbean region indicted Nicolas Petro, the son of President Gustavo Petro, on embezzlement charges.

According to the prosecutio9n, Petro and his ex-wife, Day Vasquez, took approximately $29 thousand (COP111 million) from the Atlantico Governor’s Office that was embezzled through a foundation.

The so-called Social Consciousness Foundation received the allegedly missing public funds to provide care to the elderly in the province where Petro was a deputy between 2020 and 2023.

Vasquez allegedly lobbied the contract with the secretary general of the Atlantico Governor’s Office, Raul Jose Lacauture, members of the Barranquilla’s political elite and former Transport Minister Guillermo Reyes.

According to the prosecution, the money that was sent to the foundation ended up in the pockets of Petro and his ex-wife through a corrupt outsourcing structure that involved multiple of their family members.

Prosecutor Lucy Marcela Laborde asked the Barranquilla arraignment judge to put Petro under house arrest for the duration of the trial, claiming that the president’s son could use his influence to corrupt the legal proceedings.

Laborde has also been in charge of a controversial money laundering and illicit enrichment investigation against Petro.

The initial prosecutor, Mario Burgos, was removed from the case over major irregularities that triggered political persecution accusations made by the president.

Also in this investigation, Vasquez appeared to be directly involved in the corruption practices that, according to his ex-wife, were carried out at Petro’s request.

Despite her alleged role in the financial crimes, Vasquez was granted immunity from prosecution after she agreed to testify against her ex-husband.

The post Son of Colombia’s president indicted on corruption charges appeared first on Colombia News.


Source: https://colombiareports.com/son-of-colo ... n-charges/