List of All Articles with Tag 'pol'

The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he would turn over evidence that money from crime found

The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged Thursday that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin, according prosecutors investigating the son for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering. Nicolás Petro, who was a legislator representing a northern coastal region, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the probe after being charged Tuesday. Prosecutor Mario Andrés Burgos, who heads the investigation, said the younger Petro has revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into his own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombia's first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said. On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolás Petro, 36, pleaded innocent to the charges, but agreed to cooperate with authorities. The case has come at a time when Colombia’s president is losing popularity and has been exposed to attacks by opposition parties, which have become increasingly reluctant to cooperate with his legislative agenda. The investigation stems from a shocking declaration made by the son's former wife, Daysuris Vásquez, to local news magazine Semana in March. Vasquez said she was present at meetings where Nicolás Petro arranged a 600 million peso ($150,000) donation from a politician who was once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who wanted to contribute to Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign. She accused her ex-husband of pocketing the money and said that the father’s presidential campaign had no knowledge of the donation. On Thursday, prosecutors said the “resources” in the case were around $270,000 that was delivered by Samuel Santander Lopesierra and Gabriel Hilsaca to Nicolás Petro. Lopesierra was convicted and extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced for drug trafficking. Hilsaca is the son of Alfonso Hilsaca, who is currently being prosecuted on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy in Colombia. Burgos said the president’s son has promised to deliver audio recordings and documentary evidence that would corroborate that part of the money he received was used to finance his father’s electoral campaign without being duly reported to authorities.. Prosecutors also accused Vásquez of co-operating in the money laundering scheme and said she helped her husband hide thousands of dollars in cash in suitcases that the couple kept at their home. The couple, who no longer live together, were arrested Saturday and have been held at the headquarters of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Bogota. Thursday’s hearing was held to hear arguments on whether Nicolás Petro’s detention should be switched to house arrest. The president has said he would not interfere with the investigation, and wrote a message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he said he hoped his son would “reflect on his mistakes.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Panama Canal foresees its income falling after shipping limited due to a drought Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to temporarily stay in place as case plays out New Zealand to boost its defense capabilities as it faces increasing tensions in the Pacific

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny expects a court to extend his prison sentence by

Donald Trump showed no expression as he walked up the stairs to his Boeing 757 in New Jersey

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals will allow the Biden administration to carry out a controversial asylum policy that a district court judge had blocked last week, putting that injunction -- a ruling the judge had put on hold for two weeks -- on pause for longer while the case is appealed.

Two days is all President Xi Jinping has spent outside his country this year, as mounting domestic problems

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in a Washington, DC, federal courthouse Thursday to federal criminal charges stemming from his plots to overturn the 2020 election, in a 27-minute proceeding where the first flashes of the defense's tactics emerged.

China’s central bank said it would increase funding support for the private sector after meeting with company executives

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to obstruct the 2020 presidential election and interfere

Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina will not seek reelection to Congress in 2024, instead opting to run for state attorney general, he announced on a local radio show Thursday morning.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he will boost payments for scrapping old cars and extend the program to

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty after being formally arrested and arraigned for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, in what marks his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy to overturn the election and the resulting January 6 Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, now believed to be identified. Mr Trump made an initial appearance at the E Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse to enter his plea. The government did not seek detention. The former president has railed against the indictment and is calling for the “fake” case to be moved out of Washington DC where he claims it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial”. He has also promised revenge for what he calls a politicised indictment of “concocted” charges ordered by “Crooked Joe Biden”. In a Truth Social post, he told supporters “IN 2024, IT WILL BE OUR TURN. MAGA!” The case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee. Read Trump’s full indictment from the January 6 grand jury Read More Will Donald Trump go to prison? Trump pleads not guilty to federal conspiracy charges in plot to overturn 2020 election Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment