Colombia: Radical Leftist President’s Son Arrested in Money Laundering Probe

FILE - Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, center, waves to supporters alongside his fam
AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File
Christian K. Caruzo

Nicolás Petro Burgos, son of Colombian far-left leftist President Gustavo Petro, was arrested on Saturday along with his ex-wife Daysuris Vásquez Castro as part of a probe into alleged money laundering and illicit enrichment linked to Gustavo Petro’s presidential campaign.

The arrest of Petro Burgos, a 37-year-old member of the Atlantico province’s local legislature, comes four months after the Colombian Attorney General’s office announced that it had opened a probe against the President’s son in March for allegedly having received money from drug traffickers and smugglers during his father’s presidential campaign in exchange for their inclusion in Petro’s peace talk efforts.

Petro, a former member of the Marxist M19 guerrilla, was elected president of Colombia in 2022, becoming the nation’s first-ever leftist president.

The probe into the alleged crimes committed by Petro’s son was opened in response to Petro Burgos’ ex-wife Daysuris Vásquez Castro telling the magazine Semana in March that Petro Burgos had allegedly received large sums of money from Colombian drug traffickers, politicians, and other individuals convicted of corruption for his father’s 2022 presidential campaign — adding that Petro Burgos had opted to pocket the money instead of giving it to the campaign. She claimed he used the money to live in luxury in the northern city of Barranquilla.

Vásquez assured in the interview that some of the money allegedly received by her ex-husband came from Samuel Santander Lopesierra — a Colombian politician and convicted drug trafficker commonly referred to as “The Marlboro Man” — and from Colombian businessman Alfonso “The Turk” Hilsaca.

“Nicolás received money from that gentleman [Lopesierra], more than 600 million [Colombian pesos, roughly $153,343] for his father’s campaign,” Vásquez told Semana. “They never legally reached the campaign because he [Petro Burgos] kept that money, and so on.”

“From a gentleman from Cartagena, ‘Turk’ Hilsaca, I think his name is — he also received [money] in my apartment,” she continued, specifying that Petro Burgos received 400 million Colombian pesos (roughly $102,200) from Hilsaca.

Samuel Santander Lopesierra, a former member of the Colombian Senate, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a U.S. court in 2007 after he was found guilty of drug trafficking and money laundering charges. He was released in 2021 and sent back to Colombia after having served 18 years of his sentence. Lopesierra is presently attempting to run for mayor of the city of Maicao.

Alfonso “The Turk” Hilsaca, the other man that allegedly gave money to Petro Burgos for his father’s presidential campaign, is presently facing trial on charges of maintaining links to paramilitary organizations and involvement in the murder of a Colombian citizen.

Petro Burgos denied his ex-wife’s accusations in March, dismissing them as a “media show” and claiming that there was no “conclusive evidence” of the accusations against him.

Daysuris Vásquez was arrested on Saturday alongside her ex-husband, facing charges of money laundering and violation of personal data. According to Semana, Vásquez’s personal phone is being treated as a crucial piece of evidence against Petro Burgos, as she allegedly kept records of over 1,600 pages of chat logs, voice notes, and videos that detailed her ex-husband’s criminal actions.

Colombian far-left President Gustavo Petro referred to the arrest of his son through his official Twitter account on Saturday, stating that he will not intervene in the attorney general’s probe into his son.

“My son Nicolás and his ex-wife Days have been captured by the prosecutor’s office. As a person and as a father, so much self-destruction and the fact that one of my sons is going to jail hurts me very much; as president of the Republic I assure that the prosecution has all the guarantees on my part to proceed according to the law,” Petro’s message read.

“I wish my son luck and strength. May these events forge his character and may he reflect on his own mistakes. As I stated before the Attorney General, I will not intervene or put pressure on his decisions; may the law freely guide the process,” he concluded.

Gustavo Petro’s brother, Juan Fernando Petro, is also being investigated by the attorney general’s office for having allegedly taken money from drug dealers wishing to be included in his brother’s “peace” efforts, a move that reportedly would block them from facing any potential extradition to the United States.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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