Pressure mounts on Colombia's Petro amid money laundering scandal

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (pictured) faced calls to resign on Friday after his son, Nicolás Petro, admitted to receiving payments from criminals to finance his father's 2022 election campaign. 

Nicolás Petro, who was arrested on July 29 on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment, pleaded not guilty but agreed to cooperate with investigators during a court hearing in Bogotá. 

“Nicolás Fernando Petro Burgos gave relevant information that was unknown until now by the attorney general’s office, including ... about the financing of the past presidential campaign of the current president,” prosecutor Mario Burgos said during Thursday's hearing. 

According to Burgos, Nicolás Petro admitted to accepting "large sums" of money from the criminals and added that Petro would provide audio recordings to verify the accusations. 

Opposition senator María Fernanda Cabal of the Centro Democrático party said the president's position was no longer tenable.  

“With these statements by the son of Gustavo Petro before the courts, the president must resign to maintain his dignity. His position of power is no longer legitimate," Cabal said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. 

Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Enrique Gómez of the Salvación Nacional party said in the wake of the claims that Colombia's "democracy was at risk" under the current administration. 

Petro, for his part, has repeatedly denied knowledge of any illegal campaign funds and vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2026.

“No one but the people can end this government," he said during a speech on Thursday evening. 

Petro said he would not interfere with the case against his son and Daysuris del Carmen Vásquez, Nicolas Petro's former wife, who triggered the prosecutors' investigation when she told local media in March that her ex-husband funneled donations to his father's campaign from alleged drug traffickers. 

Colombia's lower house investigations committee announced on Friday that it opened a probe into Petro following his son's revelations. In a social media post later in the day, Petro said he had hired supreme court judge Mauricio Pavo to defend him against the allegations.