Gustavo Petro, the leftist former president of Colombia, faces a Supreme Court investigation following allegations that he traded public contracts for sexual favors.
The probe, confirmed by the nation’s highest court on Saturday, centers on a complaint alleging that Petro and approximately 30 others were involved in a scheme where government contracts were exchanged for sexual relations, according to reports from Le Parisien.
The scope of the inquiry extends far beyond Petro’s 2022–2026 presidential term. Mauricio Lenis, President of the Supreme Court, clarified that investigators are looking into alleged acts spanning two distinct eras: his five terms as a parliamentarian since 1991 and his tenure in the presidential palace.
Lenis stated the probe will examine “those that have a criminal relevance and the responsibilities that attach to them,” noting the process is being conducted jointly with the prosecutor’s office under the secrecy of investigation.
“There are facts that correspond to the period when he was a congressman and others that correspond to the time when he was president,” Judge Mauricio Lenis, President of the Supreme Court of Colombia, told local media.
The legal storm was ignited by Deicy Jiménez, a former public services provider. Jiménez released a viral video that appears to show her and Petro embracing and kissing following a supposed sexual encounter. The footage, which spread rapidly across social media, has become the visual centerpiece of the allegations.
Petro has vehemently denied the claims, labeling them a political conspiracy. “I have never used a state contract to obtain favors from anyone,” he wrote on X. His legal team has announced lawsuits for defamation and slander against the magazine Semana and journalist Vicky Dávila, as reported by Democrata.es.
In a detailed rebuttal, Petro attempted to distinguish his social welfare initiatives from the alleged misconduct. “Helping poor women, mothers of families and sex workers to have different life options, as I demonstrated in public administration through concrete and funded programs, is something very different from handing out contracts in exchange for sexual relations,” he stated.
“Never will a person who participated in these public programs be able to say that I did something similar.” He added: “I have never used public power to get sex, even though I know what power can provoke.”
The investigation arrives as Petro leads the opposition against Colombia’s new hard-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella.
“We trust that our father, as he has stated, will appear promptly before justice,” they affirmed.
