On Thursday, a significant ruling was handed down by Colombia’s Constitutional Court, halting a probe into allegations of illicit campaign financing and unreported spending involving President Gustavo Petro. This decision marks a legal triumph for Petro, a left-wing leader under scrutiny. The court established that only Congress has jurisdiction to scrutinize purported irregularities in the funding of Petro’s 2022 campaign. Petro has categorically denied any wrongdoing regarding his campaign finances.
The ruling effectively terminates the investigation by the National Electoral Council, which had been examining whether Petro’s campaign surpassed the legal fundraising limit by about $1.2 million and accepted funds from labor organizations, a practice prohibited under Colombian law. The council, an administrative body responsible for overseeing electoral processes and campaign financing, possesses the authority to impose administrative sanctions such as substantial fines on campaign personnel.
The court instructed the electoral council to transfer its investigation to the Colombian House of Representatives. The future of the case under the lawmakers remains uncertain. Although President Petro often finds himself at odds with Congress, no Colombian president, including Petro, has ever been removed from office by legislators, even amidst significant public pressure. For instance, in 1996, when investigators established then-President Ernesto Samper’s connections to drug cartel financing, Congress did not take the step of removal.
President Petro has harshly criticized the electoral council, attributing political motives to their actions, adding another layer to his ongoing disputes with the nation’s courts. These courts have previously overturned some of his essential decrees and appointments. The officials on the electoral council initially planned to scrutinize campaign contributions from organizations such as unions of public school teachers and oil workers. They cited approximately a dozen financial transactions allegedly not reported by Petro’s campaign.
In response to the court’s decision, Petro expressed approval. “Well done to the Constitutional Court,” he shared on the social media platform X. The ruling is the latest development in a series of controversies surrounding the financing of Petro’s campaign. Simultaneously, the Attorney General’s office is conducting an investigation into Petro’s son, Nicolás, regarding accusations that the campaign received funds from illicit sources, including a notorious former drug trafficker.