Son of Colombia’s president arrested as a part of cash laundering probe

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – Colombian police arrested the president’s son Saturday as a part of a high-profile cash laundering probe into funds he allegedly collected from convicted drug traffickers throughout final 12 months’s presidential marketing campaign.

President Gustavo Petro, a former insurgent who rose by means of Colombia’s political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, stated he wouldn’t intervene 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 stated in an early morning message on X, the social media platform previously often 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 is a significant blow to the federal government, which has been buffeted by conservative assaults from day one on the similar time it has struggled to keep up bipartisan help for Colombia within the U.S., a longtime ally within the struggle on medication and struggle towards unlawful armed teams.

The investigation stems from stunning declarations made by Nicolas Petro’s ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, to native media outlet Semana earlier this 12 months.

In the prolonged interview, Vasquez detailed how she was current at conferences when her husband organized a donation of greater than 600 million pesos (round $150,000) from a politician as soon as convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who was in search of the Petro marketing campaign’s help to renew his political profession.

She stated President Petro was unaware of her son’s dealings and the cash he collected in his marketing campaign’s title was saved inside a secure contained in the couple’s house within the coastal metropolis of Barranquilla.

Nicolas Petro has denied his ex spouse’s claims as unfounded.