The outgoing president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, is facing a new scandal over alleged corruption just 11 days before handing over the presidency, according to a report from the agency EFE this Monday.
The case involves Juliana Guerrero, a government official, and her sister Verónica Guerrero, both accused of running a network of influence trafficking to secure public contracts in exchange for payments from business owners.
According to a study by the magazine Semana, the scheme operated in three stages: a fee of one million Colombian pesos (around 315 dollars) for an initial meeting with Juliana Guerrero; a deposit of 200 million pesos (approximately 65,520 dollars) to initiate the management processes; and a commission of 10% on the value of the awarded contracts.
The entities reportedly involved include the ministries of Housing, Interior, Equality, Environment, and Defense, as well as Fiduagraria and the National Land Agency.
Juliana Guerrero, 23 years old and without a valid university degree, was already a controversial figure within the government. Petro introduced her in a televised cabinet meeting as the future Deputy Minister of Youth with these words: "Juliana is a bit young, shall we say, but very active, rebellious, like the youth that helped us win the elections."
The appointment was never finalized because it was revealed that she had submitted a fake university degree from the Fundación Universitaria San José. In February 2026, the Prosecutor's Office charged her with procedural fraud and ideological falsehood in a public document. Despite this, Guerrero remained associated with the Executive with the support of the president.
The scandal escalated on Sunday when Angie Rodríguez, director of the Adaptation Fund and former close official to Petro, declared to Noticias RCN that she had personally warned the president about the power Guerrero wielded in the government.
Rodríguez stated that she was "the only official who warned the president about that situation" and revealed that there was a decree to remove Guerrero from his position as presidential representative on the board of the Universidad Popular del Cesar, a document that Petro never signed.
The president's reaction was immediate and aggressive. On Monday, he ordered Rodríguez's dismissal, labeling her a "great manipulator" and a "psychiatric patient," while accusing the media of "perversion."
"I don’t understand a press that doesn’t investigate whom they interview and disrespects even patients. Angie is a great manipulator who sees public service as a means to benefit herself, and I regret having met her," he wrote on his X account.
Regarding the corruption accusations, Petro completely distanced himself. He stated that if businesspeople gave money in exchange for supposed efforts to obtain contracts, they "gave money like fools" and that if the allegations are proven true, it would involve a scam perpetrated by individuals, not an act by his government.
This Monday, the Prosecutor's Office opened a formal investigation to determine whether the Guerrero sisters were part of a network dedicated to influence peddling. For her part, Juliana Guerrero denied any responsibility: "I have never received money," she stated.
The case adds to a long string of scandals that marked Petro's government between 2022 and 2026, including the charges against former ministers Ricardo Bonilla and Luis Fernando Velasco for an alleged agreement to award contracts to legislators in exchange for political support, and the sanctions imposed by the United States on Petro and his family in October 2025 for alleged irregular connections.
The elected president Abelardo de la Espriella, who will take office on August 7, requested that all security guarantees be provided to Rodríguez following his dismissal, which represents one of the first gestures of the incoming government in response to the scandal.
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