Bogota
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, September 5, 2024, p. 27
In a national broadcast message, Colombian President Gustavo Petro last night asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate the purchase of a sophisticated software of espionage by an Israeli company that the Colombian police would have acquired in 2021 for 11 million dollars to spy on him and other opponents, while in different cities of the country a truckers’ strike in rejection of an increase in the price of diesel lasted three days.
The president’s complaint refers to the program Pegasus, from the NSO Group, which has been linked to spying on human rights activists, journalists and politicians from Mexico to Saudi Arabia.
Petro, who has reported having been the victim of interception of his communications when he was an opponent and then as a presidential candidate in 2022, suggested that this software It was used to monitor critics of the then government of Iván Duque (2018-2022). He also asked the police chief to find the program to ensure that there would be no more spying.
“How do $11 million in cash leave the country, on one or two planes, from state offices of the Dipol (Police Intelligence Directorate) to Israel to buy a software “Who spies on cell phones, private communications… perhaps for months, those of the main opposition party at the time?” the president asked after reading a letter that, he warned, was confidential and only used for intelligence purposes.
The document he read, but did not release to the press, was reportedly a response from Switzerland’s financial investigation unit to a request for information from its Colombian counterpart dated August 2024. Petro said that since the content of the letter was sensitive, it could not be released without prior consent from Israel’s money laundering investigation authority.
The president said he ignored the ban because he broke diplomatic relations with Israel last May, in rejection of the genocide that this country perpetrates in Gaza.
The letter reports that Colombian police allegedly made two cash payments to NSO Group in 2021 at a Tel Aviv bank, each for more than $5 million. It was before the campaigns that begin in October 2021, both for Congress and for presidential consultations, and we are in the middle of the social outbreak in Colombia.the president commented in reference to the massive demonstrations that took place against the Duque government. Who else was intercepted? What court order was used to ensure that such interference was not a crime? Where did the money come from?he questioned.
Since January 2023, Petro has requested an investigation into possible illegal interventions following a journalistic investigation, according to which a group of officials with knowledge in cyber intelligence allegedly penetrated his campaign. As a result of this alleged espionage, videos of private meetings between campaign strategists and Petro came to light.
In his speech, the president described business the protest of freight transporters and stated that has dark, economic and political interests.
His government yesterday made a urgent call to the carriers to enable them supply corridorsin the face of food shortage alerts in several cities, such as Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali, Nariño and Boyacá.