A new corruption scandal hit the Government of Gustavo Petro after a former Colombian official revealed that large sums of money were paid to approve the president's reforms.
Sneyder Pinilla, former deputy director of Disaster Management of the state National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), shook Colombian politics this Friday by implicating high-ranking officials close to the president in misusing public funds to pay bribes.
According to Pinilla's complaint, between September and October, the then director of the UNGRD, Olmedo López, ordered the diversion of money from the UNGRD to pay million-dollar bribes to the President of the Senate, Iván Name, and to the House of Representatives, Andrés Calle, to ensure support for social reforms presented by the president, which remain stagnant.
#Escándalo | Sneyder Pinilla ‘prendió el ventilador’, declaraciones son escandalosas. Le contamos todo, aquí. Esto es #VickyEnSemana con @VickyDavilaH https://t.co/yoQgDyQjx8
— Revista Semana (@RevistaSemana) May 3, 2024
Pinilla explained that the payments were made after his boss had several meetings with the Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, and with the Councilor for the Regions, Sandra Ortiz, who according to Pinilla acted as an intermediary in delivering the money to Name, using suitcases full of high-denomination bills.
The bribe money was allegedly given by a contractor commissioned by the Governmegovernmenthase several tanker trucks to supply water to the Department of La Guajira. Pinilla suggested that the contract for the tanker trucks arises precisely “to be able to deliver (money) to these two people, Dr. Name and Dr. Calle.”
Petro reacts to the scandal
The president of Colombia tried to disassociate himself from the scandal by publishing a message through social networks ensuring that “corruption is not tolerated” in his government. "No one is protected here. An official who comes to steal, [is] an official who leaves,” he said.
He sido claro desde el inicio de la campaña. En mi gobierno no se tolera la corrupción. Aquí no se protege a nadie. Funcionario que llegue a robar, funcionario que se va.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) May 3, 2024
The Colombian president is already involved in another scandal due to possible financial irregularities in his 2022 electoral campaign. These accusations arose after his own son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, stated during an interrogation that the financing of his father's presidential campaign came from drug trafficking, and furthermore, that Gustavo Petro was aware of this situation.
“I mentioned it to him several times, he knew it,” he revealed during the interrogation about the case against him for money laundering.
Although this case is still in process, the United States recently said that the allegations regarding the financing of Petro's campaign are “credible.”
