The corruption scandal that is shaking the Petro government in Colombia, involving various political figures, has gained intensity with the denunciation of a network of embezzlement of approximately 12 million dollars in the purchase of tankers by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
This network of corruption, rooted in the misappropriation of UNGRD resources, has had a significant impact on the Colombian political landscape. Last week, direct implications emerged for both the government and the Alianza Verde party. Among the immediate consequences, we can cite the departure of a presidential advisor and the resignations of the former mayors of Bogotá, Claudia López and Antanas Mockus, two emblematic figures of this political party.
Last Friday, Sneyder Pinilla, former deputy director of Disaster Management at the UNGRD, exposed the alleged payment of millionaire bribes to the presidents of the Senate, Iván Name (Alianza Verde), and the House representatives, Andrés Calle (Liberal Party). These bribes, according to Pinilla, were intended to ensure approval in Congress of the social reforms proposed by the government.
Additionally, the Presidential Advisor for the Regions of Colombia, Sandra Ortiz, also affiliated with Alianza Verde, was mentioned as an intermediary in delivering funds to Name in suitcases full of 50,000 and 100,000 peso notes. As a result of these accusations, Ortiz tendered his resignation, affirming his innocence and expressing confidence that time and justice will uphold his integrity.
This scandal, which has gradually gained momentum, has as its epicenter the alleged embezzlement of funds in the purchase of tank trucks intended to supply water to the department of La Guajira. Although the embezzled amount was originally estimated at 46.8 billion pesos (about $12 million), Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco suggests the figure could be much higher, reaching hundreds of billions of pesos.
At the heart of the controversy is Olmedo López, a left-wing politician who served as director of the UNGRD between April 2023 and February this year. López was allegedly responsible for ordering the payment of bribes to Name and Calle from his position within the entity. Velasco, who led the UNGRD on an interim basis in April 2023, was mentioned in López’s accusations, who suggested that the current minister has aspects to clarify.
For his part, the President of the Senate, Iván Name, denied having received a bribe of 3,000 million pesos to support the reforms proposed by Petro in the legislature, contradicting the assertions of Sneyder Pinilla.
