leftwing president rocked by spiralling narco cash allegations.
Drug money claims involving Gustavo Petro’s son Nicolás could hamper progressive agenda
The lawyer representing a businessman accused of financing killings by paramilitary death squads has admitted that his client donated money to the campaign of Colombia’s first ever leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.
Alfonso Hilsaca knowingly gave 400m pesos ($95,000) to Gustavo Petro’s eldest son as a donation to his father’s electoral campaign, his lawyer said this week – though he said Hilsaca had not expected Nicolás Petro to steal the money for himself.
The admission is the latest development in a scandal involving alleged donations of narco-money into Petro’s 2022 campaign that threatens to derail the president’s hopes of bringing reform to the Andean nation – and could lead to the former guerrilla being indicted.
“It’s a very serious situation that compromises this government and threatens its stability,” said Jorge Restrepo, director of the Bogotá-based Resource Center for Conflict Analysis (Cerac). “This issue will monopolise the attention of congress as well as the public. The agenda is entirely different now.”
Prosecutors announced earlier this month that Nicolás Petro, who was also a lawmaker on the Caribbean coast, admitted to receiving “large sums” of money, some of which made their way into his father’s campaign. He says he has audio recordings, text messages and documents that corroborate the claims.
