Nicolas Petro, son of the Colombian president, was detained by the police on Saturday on money laundering and illicit enrichment charges. The arrest comes as part of a high-profile probe, stemming from accusations made by his ex-wife earlier this year.
President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who rose through Colombia’s political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, said he wouldn’t interfere with the investigation.
“As an individual and father, it pains me to see so much self-destruction and one of my sons going to jail,” Petro said in an early morning message on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“As president of the republic, I’ve assured the chief prosecutor’s office that it will have all of the guarantees so it can proceed according to the law.”
The arrest of Nicolas Petro comes as a major blow to the government, which has been buffeted by conservative attacks from day one. At the same time, it has struggled to maintain bipartisan support for Colombia in the US, a longtime ally in the war on drugs and fight against illegal armed groups.
The investigation stems from shocking declarations made by Nicolas Petro’s ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, to a local media outlet earlier this year.
In the extended interview, Vasquez detailed how she was present at meetings when her husband arranged a donation of more than 600 million pesos (around $150,000) from a politician once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who was seeking the Petro campaign’s support to resume his political career.
She said President Petro was unaware of her son’s dealings and the money he collected in his campaign’s name was kept inside a safe inside the couple’s home in the coastal city of Barranquilla.
Nicolas Petro has denied his ex-wife’s claims as unfounded.
In a statement, the chief prosecutor’s office said both Petro and Vasquez were taken into custody on orders of a court in Bogota around 6 a.m. local time. The document added that once brought before a judge, prosecutors would seek their provisional detention as it investigates the two for money laundering.
