Reported by Genevieve Glatsky

The son of Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, was arrested on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment, the attorney general’s office announcedearly Saturday morning.

Nicolás Petro was arrested along with his ex-wife, Daysuris Vásquez, who was also charged with money laundering, as well as personal data violations. They were taken into custody and the attorney general is seeking to have them held in detention on those charges, according to the statement by his office.

The attorney general’s office announced in March that it was investigating the younger Mr. Petro, a politician in the northern department of Atlántico, for allegedly receiving money from drug traffickers in exchange for including them in his father’s peace negotiations. The president has been negotiating with various illegal armed groups as he seeks to end the country’s 60-year internal conflict, which has killed around 450,000 people.

In January the attorney general’s office also opened an investigation into the president’s brother, Juan Fernando Petro, over similar allegations.

Read full report: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/americas/colombia-gustavo-petro-son-arrested.html