Calay News
In a recent interview with Cambio magazine, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro spoke about his relationship with his eldest son, Nicolás, and other issues related to his government. Petro explained that due to his participation in the M-19 guerrillas, he was unable to raise his son and that Nicolás grew up with his mother in Córdoba, where he studied and graduated from university. Although they met on several occasions after demobilization, Petro acknowledged that they never had the opportunity to live together. Nicolás participated in his father’s 2018 presidential campaign and will be a key player in the 2022 campaign. In addition, he was a candidate of Petro’s party, Colombia Humana, for governor of the department of Atlántico in 2019, placing second in the polls and becoming a departmental deputy.
Petro also spoke on other issues, such as the controversial figure of Pedro Niño, a lawyer close to his peace advisor Danilo Rueda, who has been accused of charging money to drug traffickers in exchange for including them on lists of those benefiting from freedom in the full peace negotiation processes. Petro said he does not like Niño and defended the bill on the basis of submission to justice, which establishes the negotiation route with armed groups without political status, denying that it includes benefits for drug traffickers.
The president also denied that his wife, Veronica Alcocer, is seeking to succeed him as president, although he did not rule out the possibility. Petro criticized the media for creating journalistic accounts that do not consult reality, such as the claim that he did not appoint Concha Baracaldo as director of the ICBF by decision of first lady Veronica Alcocer but that he has known her since childhood because of her older brother, who was a priest at the school where her father worked. Overall, the interview provides a deeper insight into Petro’s personal and political life, as well as his perspective on the burning issues facing Colombia today.
