Highlights: President Gustavo Petro's eldest son, Nicolas Petro, acknowledged that dirty drug money was used to fund his father's campaign last year. Nicolas Petro "received large sums of money from Mr. Samuel Santander Lopez Sierra", convicted of drug trafficking in the United States. The scandal could have serious political consequences for the Colombian head of state. In Haiti, people were killed by armed gangs in July in the Artibonite department, north of the capital Port-au-Prince, according to human rights organization Jeon Kleon Klere.

In the News: Presidential campaign finance scandal in Colombia

Excerpt from a video released by Colombia's Superior Council of the Judiciary, showing Nicolas Petro, son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, attending a hearing in Bogotá on July 30, 2023, a day after he was arrested for money laundering and illicit enrichment. © Consejo Superior de la Judicatura / AFP

Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow

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In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro's eldest son, Nicolas Petro, acknowledged that dirty drug money was used to fund his father's campaign last year. Nicolas Petro "received large sums of money from Mr. Samuel Santander Lopez Sierra", convicted of drug trafficking in the United States, said the prosecutor in charge of the case, Mario Burgos, during a court hearing Thursday, August 3. "Part of this money was used by Nicolas Petro himself and another part was invested in the 2022 presidential campaign.

The Colombian press reveals this Friday, August 4, other details of what already looks like the most serious crisis of the presidency of Gustavo Petro. According to prosecutor Mario Burgos, Nicolas Petro "admitted to having received large sums of money, not only from a former drug trafficker, but also from Alfonso Hilsaca, known as "El Turco", a businessman accused in the past of financing paramilitary groups and planning assassinations, as well as from another powerful Colombian businessman, Oscar Camacho". El Colombiano continues: "In addition to the entry of these irregular funds into his father's presidential campaign, Nicolas Petro also revealed that the limits allowed in an electoral campaign were exceeded and that several contributions had not been duly declared to the electoral authorities. After the Attorney General's Office, it is therefore the National Electoral Council that will also have to launch an investigation.

In a country that is still highly polarized, political reactions were not long in coming. First of all, "all eyes yesterday turned to the people who, during last year's presidential campaign, were in charge of financing and auditing the accounts of Gustavo Petro's team," writes El Pais. "At the head of this team was Ricardo Roa, the campaign manager of the candidate Petro and who is now the president of Ecopetrol, the national oil company, the most important company in Colombia," said the Cali regional newspaper.

" READ ALSO Colombia: the confession of the son of President Petro, accused of money laundering, embarrass his father

Calls for Ricardo Roa's resignation were launched as early as Thursday. And the president himself is now in the crosshairs. Gustavo Petro has not denied the illegal financing of his campaign. On the other hand, he denied having been aware of these financial movements: "What will never happen is that it is said that the current president of the Republic initiated or was complicit in a crime committed by one of his sons or one of his daughters, because this did not happen," said the head of state. He added: "If that were the case, this president would have to leave today."

The far-right Centro Democratico party denounces the "biggest political and corruption scandal in Colombia's history," reports El Espectador. "The testimony of Nicolas Petro is a bombshell that shakes the foundations of democracy," said Sergio Fajardo, a former presidential candidate.

Another competitor of Gustavo Petro in the last elections, Federico Gutiérrez, calls on the judiciary to "conduct a thorough investigation in order to restore the confidence of Colombians". For its part, the Historic Pact, the ruling coalition, insists on the innocence of the head of state. "The candidate himself had denounced a plan to infiltrate drug money into his campaign," said a representative of the political alliance. Gustavo Petro's opponents do not hear it that way. The weekly Semanaechoes a nationwide mobilization planned for August 16 to demand the resignation of the president.

The scandal could have serious political consequences for the Colombian head of state. "Instead of implementing his reform programme, Gustavo Petro will now have to convince the country of the legitimacy of his electorate," El Tiempo said. And time is running out. "On October 29, the municipal elections will take place, considered as test elections for the president and his coalition, the Historic Pact. These elections will determine whether Gustavo Petro's political project is solid or just an ephemeral illusion for those who thought they had voted for change.

In Haiti, 29 people were killed by armed gangs in July in the Artibonite department, north of the capital Port-au-Prince.

This count was published yesterday by the Fondasyon Je Klere. According to this human rights organization, dozens of other people have been kidnapped, women raped and many houses looted and burned, reports the Alterpresse agency. The FJK also criticises "the inaction of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his government, who have not announced any protection plan for the displaced and no relocation plan".

In this context, we learn today in the Miami Herald that the intervention of an international force to fight gangs in Haiti would cost between 200 and 400 million US dollars per year. This is what Todd Robinson, a senior State Department official, told the Florida newspaper. Todd Robinson also reveals that Kenya's announcement of its interest in leading such a force came after a visit by a US delegation to Nairobi on 22 July. But the Kenyan government will not make its final decision until after an assessment mission to Haiti on August 19.

" READ ALSO Haiti : the project of a multinational intervention force makes its way

In the News: Presidential campaign finance scandal in Colombia

In the News: Presidential campaign finance scandal in Colombia

In Haiti, 29 people were killed by armed gangs in July in the Artibonite department, north of the capital Port-au-Prince.

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