Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for a “forensic examination” of letters published by the Colombian press indicating the infiltration of his government by opponents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
On Sunday (23), a Caracol Television network report showed that a general and a senior intelligence official exchanged information with the rebels led by Alexandre Díaz, known as Calarca, who is negotiating peace with the government.
Petro accuses the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of leaking information to Karakol to harm his government, which is currently witnessing a political dispute with US President Donald Trump.
“The journalist’s source is the CIA, which is accustomed to creating networks to influence public opinion in accordance with the interests of his country’s government around the world,” Petro wrote in X.
The Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Defense are investigating General Juan Manuel Huertas and Wilmar Mejia, an employee of the National Intelligence Directorate, for allegedly planning to create a security company that would allow the rebels to evade controls and purchase weapons.
“We decided, if possible, to conduct a computer forensic examination of the conversations” of the dissidents revealed by Caracol, Petro said on Tuesday (25) during a meeting with his ministers. “Based on that, I will make my decisions,” he added.
Petro said he had “many doubts” about the content of the report, which he described in a previous statement as false. The case raises a new political crisis in the country.
The information was extracted from phones and electronic devices seized in July 2024, when Calarca and other dissidents were temporarily detained and later released due to their status as peace negotiators.
Petro’s government came to power in 2022 with a promise to negotiate peace with the country’s remaining rebels following the historic agreement signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016. But towards the end of its term, it has achieved no tangible successes, and a series of recent attacks against security forces and political figures in major cities such as Bogotá and Cali have unsettled its approach.
Tensions also built between the president and the army after the dismissal of several senior commanders. According to local media, one of the investigated generals, Wilmar Mejía, was responsible for carrying out these purges.
Today, under Trump, the United States is practicing hostile diplomacy with the Petro government, the first leftist in the history of Colombia, considering that the Colombian administration is not doing enough to combat drug trafficking.
Trump stripped Colombia of its status as an ally of Washington in the fight against drugs and imposed strict economic sanctions on Petro and some members of his family. Furthermore, the Pentagon announced a series of attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, allegedly linked to drug trafficking, one of which was actually carried out by the Colombian guerrilla group ELN (National Liberation Army).
The Ombudsman’s Office on Tuesday requested the dismissal of senior officials being investigated. “It is proposed to evaluate the removal of people who may be at risk from their role,” the entity said in a statement.