The Colombian ambassador in France once again stressed that his actions as minister were completely transparent.
The recent scandal that compromises the son of President Gustavo Petro, Nicolás Petro Burgos, with the receipt of irregular money that in turn would have entered his father’s electoral campaign, therefore continues to generate reactions in several of the people involved and even closer to the national government.
This is the case of the former Minister of the Interior and now Ambassador to France, Alfonso Prada, who spoke about some clarifications made by Petro Burgos in an interview with Semana in relation to alleged clientelist dealings that the diplomat would have had at the head of the Ministry.
One of the evidence used by the Prosecutor’s Office in the recent judicial process derives from a 2022 conversation between Nicolás and his ex-wife Day Vásquez, also linked to the investigations, in which the president’s son told him: “Prada gave me 10 slots ( …) I am going to give three for Ciénaga, one to help my mother, one for you and five for the political issue of Barranquilla”.
Despite this, this message, which cast doubt on decisions in the spheres of high government, was denied by its author to SEMANA during his first interview after receiving probation, assuring that what was said to Day was a simple strategy for her to send him the resume of one of her best friends, Laura Ojeda, Petro Burgos’s current partner and with whom she is expecting a son who will be named Luka.
“It’s going to sound ugly and they’re going to say ‘Nicolás is a hp’, but it’s the truth. I made up to Daysuris that they had given me some slots so that she could send me a resume of a lawyer who was a friend of hers, so that I could have her contact. That is the reality,” the president’s son told the media.
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Nicolás also assured in the interview that there were rapprochements with Prada, but “they were only formal meetings, so to speak.” These clarifications went down well with Prada, who through his account on X (formerly Twitter) said that what was recently known confirms what he had been defending for several months, in the face of his transparency at the head of the Ministry of the Interior. .
“For 5 months he had specified that our actions in the Ministry of the Interior were transparent and adhered to the law in everything. I am glad that it was confirmed that everything was like that. I hope that the Prosecutor’s Office amends its mistake and the serious damage!”, says the ambassador’s message.
Thank you very much for the messages of solidarity. For 5 months I had specified that our actions in @MinInterior They were transparent and adhered to the law in everything. I am glad that it was confirmed that everything was like that. Wait @FiscaliaCol Amend your error and the serious prejudice! pic.twitter.com/1nCWnOMQgN
— Alfonso Prada (@alfonsoprada) August 6, 2023
Petro Burgos’s statements during the hearing held in Bogotá also generated some relief for the presidency, since Nicolás affirmed that his father’s winning campaign received funds irregularly, not from illegal sources, but they did exceed the limits allowed by law, both Gustavo Petro and his campaign manager were unaware of this type of matter.
“Neither my father nor the campaign manager, Ricardo Roa, knew about the money that Daysuris and I received from Santander Lopesierra and Gabriel Hilsaca,” Nicolás declared before the authorities.
After much speculation about the decisions that the courts could make against both Nicolás Petro and Day Vásquez, a guarantee control judge decided to allow them to defend themselves in freedom in the judicial process that is taking place against them for money laundering and illicit enrichment.
However, some conditions were defined, which are reinforcing the security and custody of both, a total commitment to attend proceedings called by the Prosecutor’s Office, not leaving the city of Barranquilla and avoiding political meetings as well as meeting with the persons designated as having contributed the questioned resources to Gustavo Petro’s campaign.