BOGOTÁ — Former President Gustavo Petro is now under investigation by Colombia’s Supreme Court over allegations that state contracts were handed out in exchange for sexual relationships, a scandal that has widened in a week with new videos released to the public, a seized cell phone, multiple investigations and a Senate push to restrict the ex-president’s travel.

Petro denies these allegations.

The story began October 25, when Deicy Jiménez, a former state contractor, gave an interview to Semana’s Vicky Dávila. Jiménez said she had a relationship with Petro that began in 2019, when he was a senator, and that she later received public contracts in return. She also said other women were involved and that she broke off contact on August 6, a day before his term ended.

The case reached the Supreme Court after a complaint to the Fiscalía, the prosecutor’s office. The court’s president said Sunday that the former president is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct tied to his time as president and as a congressman, AFP reported.

Jiménez says she and about 30 other people received state contracts because of a relationship with Petro. Other outlets cite figures ranging up to 48 women, and the number has not been established.

Video Chats

On November 4, Jiménez posted a video of about 54 seconds on Instagram that she presented as proof of a private relationship with Petro. Petro did not deny the video was real. He wrote on X that he never used “a state contract to obtain favors from anyone” and said he would answer to the judges.

Petro’s lawyer and he have also said the accusations are part of a campaign by political enemies.

A day later, a chat attributed to Petro and Angie Rodríguez, then head of the Presidency’s administrative department (Dapre), surfaced. Local outlet El Tiempo reported it as showing Petro asking that Jiménez’s contract at the Interior Ministry be kept.

Rodríguez has since become a critic of her former boss. The message would show involvement in the contract, but by itself it does not prove the alleged exchange.

On Monday, journalist Darcy Quinn published another video that she says is in the Fiscalía’s possession. It appears to show a video call between Petro and Jiménez while he wrote to her from a Facebook profile named “Andrés Maldonado Beltrán.”

Prosecutors have not confirmed it, and neither has Petro, and its authenticity has not been established.

Investigations

Jiménez handed her phone to CTI investigators after a long session at the Fiscalía, and its contents are being forensically extracted. She says it holds videos and conversations that support her account, and she spent about four hours before the Supreme Court’s special investigation chamber, where she affirmed part of her claims. She is due back at the Fiscalía on November 10 with a new lawyer. Jiménez previous lawyer resigned citing safety concerns. Dapre director Carlos Ríos is scheduled to be heard on November 18 and 19.

The contracts are being examined too. Reports differ on the scale. Diario Libre cites seven contracts worth about 116.9 million pesos between August 2022 and August 2026, while Publimetro reports authorities are looking at 10 links worth about 133 million.

A complaint has reached the House Accusation Commission, which handles cases against former presidents, and the Procuraduría has opened a preliminary inquiry into possible irregularities in the contracting.

The accusation has also drawn a personal response. Petro’s daughters Antonella and Sofía asked that the complainant not be revictimized, while supporters have circulated memes defending him.

Travel Risk?

The scandal has also revived a dispute over whether Petro should be allowed to leave Colombia. Under the Constitution, a former president needs the Senate’s permission to travel abroad during the year after leaving office. The Senate approved his request in August, 73 votes to 11, on condition that he report the dates and destination of each trip. The permission runs to August 7, 2027. His one trip so far was a four-day academic visit to Mexico City, ending September 2.

Senator Germán Rodríguez of Salvación Nacional said he will ask the full Senate on Tuesday, November 10, to revoke that permission, “The Senate will not be an accomplice to Gustavo Petro’s flight,” he wrote. Rodríguez pointed to Carlos Ramón González, a former Dapre director who was the subject of an Interpol red notice and has taken refuge in Nicaragua.

There is no known judicial finding that Petro intends to flee, and neither the Supreme Court nor the Fiscalía has requested a travel ban. Legal commentators note that the Senate could withdraw its permission quickly if a court ordered a precautionary measure.

Petro has said he does not plan to leave the country.