Former President Petro under investigation in Colombia over sexual scandal
The Supreme Court of Justice is investigating Gustavo Petro for alleged state contracts in exchange for sexual favours. Petro denies the charges and attributes them to his political adversaries.
Supreme Court opens investigation against Petro for alleged contracts in exchange for sex
Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro is being investigated over a sexual scandal spanning both his period as a congressman and his presidential term, according to laprensani.com citing the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, judge Mauricio Lenis.
The case reached the high tribunal following a complaint filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office by a woman who claims that she and approximately thirty other people received state contracts in exchange for maintaining sexual relations with Petro.
"There are facts that correspond to when he was a congressman and there are facts that correspond to when he was president," Lenis declared on Saturday to local media. The magistrate added that it would be determined "from all the facts denounced which ones have criminal relevance and the responsibilities that would correspond," within the framework of joint investigations with the Public Prosecutor's Office, under reserve.
In recent days, former public contractor Deicy Jiménez released a video in which she appears alongside Petro embracing and kissing after an alleged sexual encounter. The images went viral rapidly on social media.
Petro denied the accusations and posted on X that he never used "a state contract to obtain favours from anyone". The former president stated that he would appear before judges and maintained that the complaints form part of a plan orchestrated by his political detractors, whilst leading the opposition to the government of right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella.
It is not the first time that Petro's conduct towards women has generated controversy. In the past he described a group of journalists as "mafia dolls", a remark that also sparked criticism.
His daughters, Antonella and Sofía Petro, published a statement on Sunday in which they call for not revictimising the complainant. "We trust that our father, as he has already stated, will appear before justice without delay," the statement says.
Petro served as a congressman in five periods between 1991 and 2022, before assuming the presidency of Colombia. Memes circulate on social media that mix images of the former president with phrases such as "let us do the politics of love".
Source: Google News CO — Crime